Xanatos
by CelticKawaii
Summary: L still suspects that Light is Kira, so he changes his strategy; he'll fake his death and get the Wammy's kids to help catch Kira. The problem? Keeping them from killing themselves and each other.
1. Prologue

**WARNING: SPOILERIFIC! Read on, schmucks!**

**I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE! I DON'T EVEN OWN _A_ DEATH NOTE! IF I DID, I'D KILL JUSTIN BIEBER.  
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**Okay, this is just something that was bugging me since episode 25 of Death Note...whether or not it really happens is up to you. I refuse to believe L could be taken down so easily, so out of stubbornness, I wrote up a "fix fic" of sorts. Did I mention it contains spoilers?**

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><p>L pondered over the back of the black notebook he held in his hands, considering the possibilities of these "extra rules".<p>

"13 days" he said to himself. "Whoever uses this notebook to kill must write the name of a person within 13 days, or else they die," What were the odds of this being true? How could it be possible for Light Yagami to be Kira if he was confined for well over the 13-day limit?

_But,_ L thought, _it would mean that, were this rule to be true, one could potentially go on killing, and as long as they remained within the limit, the user could live on indefinitely...but then, that's not completely out of the question. Theoretically, a person's lifespan could be lengthened by this means..._

"Rem," L turned his dark eyes toward the tall, ominous figure in the room, and then paused to take another sip of coffee.

"Yes?"

"Could a person use the Death Note to extend their lifespan indefinitely?"

The shinigami was suspicious, not sure what the detective had in mind. Was it a trick question? Didn't he already know the answer?

"No, that is impossible," Rem answered. "However, a shinigami who uses the Death Note could add years to their own life, by casting from the lifespan of a human,"

"Interesting," L said, carefully scraping off the chocolate frosting from a doughnut with his tongue. "But then, would that mean the 13-day rule still applies?"

The shinigami flinched - so he _was_ asking trick questions here - but quickly regained composure. "One's lifespan can run its course as usual if one uses the Death Note, but once their lifespan is up, they die. If they fail to fulfill the 13-day requirement, the person dies prematurely of a heart attack,"

"Really?" the detective was on his second frosted doughnut, meticulously peeling away the layer of chocolate from its surface. In reality, he was devising, contriving a backup plan - if he could get Rem to cooperate with him, he may have a chance at catching Kira. It was drastic, and it certainly wouldn't be easy for him, but if he could just gain her trust...

He was now on his third doughnut, this time coated over with a layer of white sprinkles. It was risky, for sure, and there was a chance that at any moment, this god of death could kill him, but he'd taken huge risks before, and it was far from the last time he would do so. 10.8% chance of this actually working...but it was still worth the effort.

"Rem, I need to ask you something," said L, licking up sprinkles. "What is the one thing you care about most of all?"

He waited for the answer, knowing this was dangerous. _If she wanted to, she could kill me right now..._ he thought. _Still, if it means solving this case..._

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><p><strong>Wow, that was fun! Dun-dun-dun, cliff hanger! Maybe. Eh, I dunno. I had a lot of fun describing the food though, could you tell? Well, this is L here, so I just found it appropriate. XD Anyway, I always believed he found the 13-day rule to be full of crap, but he never got the chance to test that theory out. As for the 10.8% thing, it was kind of symbolic more than accurate...you know, "108"? Well, in any case, I tried to make it sound like L and how he'd think, so I hope I got it.<strong>

**Anyway, REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 1: Rebirth

**Well, this took a while, what with a massive rearranging the plot and then getting banned from the computer for a week (I would like to strangle my mom now...), but it came out great in the end. I think this is the first fanfic I've actually put some serious thought into. So much so that I drew up a plot map...**

**Anyway, I might want to rewrite the summary for this. I decided to use the Wammy orphans because it seemed brilliant, and there were a certain pair of minor characters who really looked like they'd be fun to use! Bottom line, read it, review, it's good!**

**WARNING: Fanservice scene. That is all.**

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><p>L watched Watari through the computer screen, as he struggled to hit the delete button in the other room. No, it wasn't happening, after he had come so close...<p>

"Everyone, where is the shinigami?" he said, quickly turning his attention elsewhere. Light secretly felt like laughing then and there, knowing that his plan had worked. Just as he'd planned, Rem was going to kill Watari, and then L, in order to save Misa Amane's life. This was going perfectly...

"Where is the shiniga-" L cut off, suddenly feeling his heart skip. He fell out of his chair, as Light quickly dove after him, and caught him.

"Ryuzaki! Hey, Ryuzaki are you alright?" Light asked. The two of them looked at each other, L staring terrified into Light Yagami's eyes...or shocked, or maybe both. Light kept pleading with him desperately, trying to get him to hang on. They both knew it was no use.

"L! L please! Don't die on me!"

He slowly closed his eyes. The last thing he caught a glimpse of was Light's face, twisted into a wicked smirk - no, it wasn't Light. It was, L had no doubt now, Kira.

"Ryuzaki!" Light cried. He checked for a pulse, but he found none. "No! L! Hey, c'mon L! Don't die here! You can't die on me! We have to catch Kira, remember?"

L and Watari were taken away by the coroner, and Light had a silent victory. He had finally overcome the major obstacle in his way of the new world...he had actually killed L.

_I've won, _he thought, as the ambulance drove out of sight. Now L was out of the picture, dead, gone, and no longer able to stand in the way of Kira. _Now I can become the god of the new world, now that I've finally got you out of the way..._

"Ryuzaki? Hey, Ryuzaki, are you awake yet?"

L blinked a few times, squinting in the light. "So, did the plan work, Minori?"

"Yes, the whole thing worked out like you planned it. The Task Force and Light Yagami think that you and Watari are both dead,"

He smiled._ I always knew those drugs that slowed human heart rate would come in handy some day..._

"Don't mention it," she answered back. "We're here to catch Kira, right? I mean, whatever it takes,"

From here, the plan was to head back home and wait. L hated waiting. Waiting meant more murders, more opportunity for Kira to plan ahead...only he wouldn't plan on L being alive. He would, however, eventually come to learn about L's successors, and he was sure that the two of them would coincide to bring Kira to justice. That is, if the two of them worked together. That was the only downside though; Mello and Near were both stubborn, and while Near probably wouldn't mind working with Mello if it meant winning, Mello would definitely take some convincing. Then there was Rem, who, if she suspected Misa's life was in jeopardy, would kill all of them without hesitation. On the whole, L was taking a risk here...

But then, L had been taking risks from day one.

Watari looked over at L. "So what are you planning next?"

"Well," he replied, "my next move would be to allow my successors to step into this case, so I won't be resetting my deadman's switch,"

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><p><em>...meanwhile, at Wammy's House...<em>

Red. That was the first thing Matt saw when he looked into the full-length mirror. Dripping, in a towel, fresh out of the shower, all Matt could look at was his hair, now a deep shade of cherry red. How it happened, he wasn't sure, but it could've been that someone had slipped dye in the shampoo, as a prank.

_Meh, who cares? It's not like I get out that much anyway. Well, maybe it doesn't look so bad..._

He finally made up his mind that it was better to just brush it off, dry off, get dressed, and get a few minutes of _Halo_ to himself.

_Now who the hell would pull something like this?_ Matt mused as he walked down the hall. He figured that pranks like this occurred now and then at Wammy's, since after all, they were kids. They were mostly harmless things, like the time Linda got locked in the closet - they forgot she was in there for a while - or the gummy bear incident with Mello. That's when Matt caught sight of the skinny blond kid who, upon seeing his friend's new look, stopped dead in his tracks, the chocolate bar half in his mouth.

"So...like the new look?" said Matt.

"Uh...oh god, Matt, I'm so sorry,"

"Wha- that was you? What, you thought I needed a makeover or something?"

"No," Mello sighed, facepalming. "It was supposed to be for Near...the little bastard must've guessed what was happening and swapped out the shampoo,"

Matt shrugged. "Nah, I just ran out. I had to borrow his because I didn't want my hair smelling like Herbal Essence...and it's not like I could ask Linda..."

"Dude, seriously, I'm really -"

"It's cool. I don't care," he said.

"Are...are you sure?" he looked at Matt sideways. "I-I mean, that stuff won't wash out for weeks..."

"That's okay. Besides, I kind of like it," he continued on, moving along past his friend, who still at the moment was not completely sure what just happened. "Bye,"

"My God, what have I done?"

Matt headed over to his room, getting a few double-takes from the other orphans along the way. One girl with her hair up in pigtails appeared to be first shocked, then excited over the new look. "Matt..." she said, not really sure what to make of him.

"Hey Linda," he said.

"So uh...what happened?"

"It's a long story..."

"Well...if it's okay with you, I just got this new set of pens and I want so badly to draw you with your hair like that right now...it just..."

"Sure, go crazy,"

She ran off to get her sketch book, her pens, and feverishly got to work on the sketch. She only needed a few seconds to get an image in her mind - "eidetic memory", she called it - and she could draw an almost perfect copy of it. Within five minutes, she stepped into Matt's room to show him.

"Matt, I'm finished drawing it, you've really gotta see it!"

He smiled, but didn't take his eyes off the video game. "Nice,"

"Look at it," she said, a little annoyed now. He set the game on pause and looked over at the sketch Linda drew of him. It was a three-quarter view, and the detail she put into it was impressive. She had gone with a black-and-white scale on everything but the hair, which she'd even managed to render as still a bit damp, in striking shades of crimson, scarlet, and auburn.

"Wow, it...really came out great. You did a great job with it Linda,"

"Heh, you mean it? Thanks Matt," she said.

"Oh hey, by the way, you have any idea where Mello is?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Roger wanted to talk to him about something. He wanted to bring Near in too,"

"Really? What about?"

"I'm not sure," she said. Matt was about to get back to his game again, when there was the sudden sound of a door slamming.

It didn't take long for Mello to come storming past Matt's room, at which point he went after him to see what was going on. Linda stayed back, but still looked over at the door.

"What? What do you mean, L's dead?" she heard someone say. Linda charged out the door.

"What? Did you say L's dead? He-he can't be dead..."

"Yes, he is. I just heard it from Roger, that Kira somehow managed to kill L," Mello said, his voice shaking a little.

"So, who did L choose as a replacement?" Matt asked him.

"He didn't decide," Mello replied, "but I can't work with Near, it just won't work. And besides, Near doesn't get emotional like me,"

Linda and Matt just stared at him, still trying to grasp the words "L's dead". Mello began to walk away, but Matt finally managed to get out the words "And...and what about you?..."

"I'm leaving this place," he said. "I've had enough of this orphanage and it's time I made my own decisions. I'll be joining the mafia,"

Mello headed off, leaving the other two behind and dazed. He almost missed Matt calling back to him "Well, good luck with that!"

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><p>L stared out the airplane window, considering his plan and how he intended to make his next move. <em>I've set everything in motion, and now that everyone believes me to be dead, the real question is, can I trust my two successors to work together to catch Kira?<em>

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><p><strong>And, there it is for ya. I had to make the filler part entertaining somehow, so...Matt, in a towel, with red hair. :D<strong>

**I never even knew about Linda until recently, and when I found out she was a great artist, for whatever reason, I came up with "photographic (****eidetic) memory" and then found out that it wasn't canon. But I think she'd be fun to have in the story. XD**

**As for Matt, I read that his hair is technically supposed to be brown, but the fanart gives him red hair, so I thought of the hair dye prank as a way to get both.**

**Minori, by the way, is an original character. For those of you who don't like OC's, 1) she doesn't play a major role in the plot, 2) I had to use her, because I ran out of canon characters to fill the role, and 3) she probably won't last very long anyway. Not to spoil anything though...**

**Please review!  
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	3. Chapter 2: Departure

**Here's the third chapter: I'm getting so hooked on Wammy-centric stuff, it's so hard to focus on L and the others. You know, besides L at Wammy's. Meh, just read it.**

**Well, just wanna touch upon Minori: I ended up having her play a bigger role than originally, because she can be so useful in getting info to the Wammys. Plus, this series needs more girls who kick ass! But she's staying a minor character.**

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><p>L thought back to his conversation with Rem as he sat by the open window of the hotel. He hadn't told her of his plan to fake his own death, so she probably assumed he was already dead. Good. At least for now, she believed he was out of the way. Still, even if she did find out, she would, hopefully, be on his side.<p>

"What is the one thing you care about the most?" he had asked her.

"Misa," was her reply. "If I see anyone who would pose a threat to her life, I would not hesitate to kill that person instantly,"

Ironic, how even under these circumstances, where a shinigami was likely considering his death, L couldn't help find some humor in the odd notion of a death god caring for Amane. True, she was certainly endearing, but to the point where even the shinigami would protect her?

He set up his laptop on his bed. Hopefully, Kira will suspect nothing. He's probably already taken my place as the new L, and now that he thinks I'm dead, he won't be as careful.

"Listen Rem, I understand that you care deeply for her, but tell me, is it true that Light Yagami puts Misa at risk also?"

The screen lit up, and L immediately went to work. Just then, his cell phone began to ring.

"Ryuzaki?"

It was Minori.

"Hey, Minori, I finally made it to the hotel," L said. "It's funny how easily I've become obsessed with collecting their complimentary toiletries by now,"

"Heh, I do the same thing! Well, sorry it was one of the cheaper ones though; since Watari and I are the only ones who know you're alive, you have no access to your funds. You'll have to be broke for a while,"

He smiled. It was fine with him really, so long as he could afford sweets. Okay, it obviously wouldn't be easy, but he'd manage. Just like he'd put up with being chained up to Light Yagami...

"Oh, and I've got the file containing all your investigation of the Kira Case up till now; you want me to send it to Wammy's House?"

"Not just yet," he said. "I want the file sent to someone specific, but I'm not quite sure who it is just yet,"

"Are you even sure they'll both still be there?"

He pondered it a moment before answering, "At least one of them will, I'm sure,"

He thought about those kids, back at Wammy's House; everything would work, if only his two successors would cooperate. Near wouldn't be a problem - Mello would. He had a backup plan, kind of, in case he didn't. If Mello refused to join forces with Near, he would either fight with him over who should be the next L, or he'd just give up the place to Near and leave Wammy's altogether. He suspected it was the second.

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><p>"Do you need any help packing?" I asked him.<p>

Near looked shyly at me. "No thank you, Linda," he said.

"So, you're going to be the new L," I said. Stupid, I hated small talk, but I felt like I had to get a few last words with him, with Near, the little boy who always played alone, before he went off to catch Kira.

This could be our last talk.

"Yes, that's right," he answered. I moved in to help pack his things.

"Wouldn't you be better off working with Mello?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"I would've gone along with it, but Mello refuses to work with me. I still think I'll be able to do this alone, though,"

_Think Linda, think...something else to say...this is your last chance to say something to Near..._

"Near?"

He turned to face me.

"Nater," I said in a whisper.

"What is it Linda?" he said.

I scooted over closer to him, wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. He didn't expect it, so he was stiff, but I didn't care. What could I say? My little Near, who was like a brother to me, was leaving the Wammy's House, off to find the vicious killer who had murdered L. I was worried about him, what would happen to him...

"I'm gonna miss you," I whispered in his ear. I gave him one final squeeze before letting go. He just stared back at me with a surprised look on his face before finally returning to normal.

"I uh...I'll miss you too, Linda," he muttered, blushing. True, he was the most brilliant mind in the whole house, the one to be L's successor...but to me, he was "little Nate River," the little white-haired boy who was always sitting alone and too shy to talk to anyone. And here he was, going off to find a serial killer.

Little Near.

"Be careful, okay?" I said, already feeling a lump in my throat.

"Okay,"

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><p>"So, I'm just curious...why the mafia?" I asked him.<p>

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied as he shoved his things in a suitcase. "It'll be the best advantage, since I can't work with an organization that operates with Near, and without being restricted by the law, I'll have the upper hand,"

"I see," I said. "And, of course there's always a great excuse to dress in tight black leather,"

"What?"

"What?" I smirked.

"What the hell are you implying?"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Mello and I looked at each other, as if asking who it could be. There were three possibilities, but neither of us thought Near would be it. No, it was probably Roger.

"Almost at the boss level Mells. Sorry," I said. He rolled his eyes and opened the door.

It was Linda.

"H-hey uh...could I come in?"

"No,"

"Just let her in Mello," I shrugged. "It's not like she did anything wrong,"

He let her in, and she took a seat on the edge of his bed. Once I got a better look at her, I could see that she had been crying. "You alright?"

She nodded.

There was a moment of awkward silence, the only sound being from my PSP or Mello packing his stuff, and occasionally Linda sniffling. She just sat with her knees tucked under her chin, trying (and failing) not to make it too obvious she was crying. She finally spoke up. "Mello?"

He turned to face her.

"You've always been among the best of us here. I admire you a lot for what you do, always working hard in your studies...I'm sure you could beat Kira...but..."

"If you're going to convince me to work with Near, it's just not happening Linda,"

"You're so selfish Mello!" she snapped, sitting up. "Near may have been your rival, but this isn't about you or him, is it? It's about L! You want to avenge him, don't you? Don't you think this is what he'd want?"

"What the hell do you know about what L would want?"

"You think he wants you two to work against each other? Why else would he not just choose one of you!"

"You don't know anything, Linda, so shut up!" he grabbed her by the shirt collar.

"Guys, chill out!" I stepped in just before they could tear out each others throats. "Calm down, okay? Lin, please don't bring up Near right now, it's just not a good time,"

Mello's eyes pleaded with me to kill her, but I shook my head. I was a little surprised with Linda's outburst though - she didn't normally go off on people, at least not like that anyway. Most of the time she just tried to be nice and stuck with drawing. I still doubted she'd last very long against Mello...

"I'm sorry," she muttered, resuming her place at the end of the bed. "But...there's something that's been on my mind, and I had to tell you..."

"Well, just tell me then," Mello said, leaning against a wall and pulling out a bar of chocolate. Sometimes I wondered where those things came from...

"I...I promised I'd draw you, didn't I?" she said. "I did the sketch, and it's finished...I wanted to give it to you, but I realized I never even showed it to you yet. I just figured now would be the time,"

He stared at her, took a bite of chocolate, looked at me, then back at her. "Really?"

"Really," she sighed. "Now that you're leaving Wammy's House, and you'll be fifteen this month. Sort of an early birthday gift..."

He took another bite of chocolate.

"Like I said, I really have always admired you. Nea-" I nudged her with my foot, and gave her a look.

"Well, compared to the rest of us, you were the best at everything. Always the best grades, most athletic, most creative, I kind of looked up to you like a brother...and we'll all miss you, now that you're going away,"

Another bite.

"Please, if you're going to leave, at least promise me this; that you won't forget about Matt,"

He scoffed. "Why would I forget Matt? And why do I have to promise you?"

"Because he's the one person who put up with you," she blurted. I raised an eyebrow, looking over at him, and frankly, I couldn't help snickering a bit.

"Yeah Mello, please don't forget me, the guy who delivered you chocolate and dealt with your crap all these years," I said playfully. "I let you win DDR five rounds in a row, remember?"

He rolled his eyes. It was true we were good friends, hell best friends even, but there were times we didn't get along. Maybe Lin thought he didn't appreciate me or something, and who knows, maybe some of that was true, but she didn't really get it. How we got along, how a big fight didn't mean we didn't still care about each other, or how insults and snide remarks were just our way of dealing with each other...or that Linda occasionally did things that made people want to smack her.

"I've seen people," Linda said, "who've left Wammy's, they just forgot the rest of us even existed. I just don't want that to happen to Matt,"

I understood what she meant, but I still kind of wanted to smack her.

"Please Mello, he's always been there for you - you even said he'd follow you like a dog..."

Still wanted to smack her.

"I won't forget about him, Linda," he answered tersely. "And I don't have to make a promise,"

"But just do it, okay,"

If I wasn't so lazy, I'd have smacked her right there.

He bit into his chocolate bar. "Whatever, fine, I promise I won't forget about Matt,"

She smiled. I leaned in closer, pondering over whether I should smack her or maybe hug her. Or both.

I chose to hug her. And then I bopped her on the head.

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><p>Back in the Shinigami Realm, Rem thought of what L had said to her. How he'd promised to find a way to catch Kira, but somehow protect Misa. He promised he wouldn't hurt her...<p>

And then, he had died.

_Perhaps,_ she thought,_ he really meant what he said. Perhaps not all humans are disgusting..._

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><p><strong>Finally, the second official chapter is done! Yesh! Hope everyone could keep up with the back-and-forth POV (3rd person - Linda's POV- Matt's POV- 3rd person)...I do that a lot. <strong>

**Anyway, hope to get more plot into this...and maybe some fanservice too. But plot comes first...heh-heh, yeah. XP**

**Oh Linda, she's so sweet! ^_^ I loved doing that hug scene with Nater...yeah, that's my new nickname for Near. It's because of a typo on his real name, but...yeah. I like Mello and all, but Near's just too damn cute.**

**And Matt...he's so fun to do POV's for! I swear, there's never a dull moment with him.**

**L...how will he survive the hotel? Meh, he'll end up stealing all the soaps and shampoos...oh, the joys of Holiday Inn.**

**NOW REVIEW!  
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	4. Chapter 3: Worry

**WARNING: Linda's POV.**

**So, this is a fillery, fluffy, and very hilarious chapter. There's also a few references to "Pocky in Ramen," so if you're curious...;)**

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><p>I shut the TV off after watching the news. More people killed.<p>

Kira was at it again. For a while, it seemed like L would finally be able to have him executed, he was so close, but then...Kira had done the impossible.

Who's to say Mello and Near wouldn't meet the same fate? Mello, the crazy blond who everyone seemed to love, that everyone knew as "the boy who pulled a gun on Quilish Wammy"; and Near...I got sick just thinking of it...my little Near, that sweet little boy who never bothered anyone, so cute and shy, alone with his toys. To think that Kira could have him lying lifeless, cold on the floor...no, I couldn't think of that right now.

"I have to get it out of my head," I said to myself. "It's...such a nice day. I can find a spot in the treetops to catch a view of,"

By 'nice day', I really meant 'it wasn't snowing right now, and there was only two inches or so on the ground.' It was December 13th, and by now, Near and Mello had already left Wammy's House, the one teaming up with a hand-picked group of FBI agents called the SPK, and the other already in search of the nearest mafiazzi. The first snow had fallen in London, and here I was walking through it.

It was to nice out for a coat.

Maybe they'll be fine out there...maybe Kira won't kill...no, I came here to stop thinking about that! What am I doing?

My boots crunched in the thin layer of snow as I tried to focus on what was here and now. The chill breeze, the blue sky, the fluffy sparkling snow in the tree branches...

"WAAAH!"

The next thing I knew, I was flat on my butt with snow on my leggings. Guess I should've been more careful. I just brushed myself off as best I could, and looked for the tree that was easiest to climb. I normally didn't do this in a skirt, but since there was no one around and I was wearing leggings, I didn't think there'd be a problem.

I found a fork in the branches to perch in, and peered out ahead. Today was beautiful; so serene, white, quiet...

...like Near.

_No no **no!**_ I couldn't keep doing this to myself. I shook off the thought and quickly pulled out a sketchpad from my sweater - true, I didn't need to be there to trace the scene on paper, but I needed to stop worrying about them. I took out the pencil from behind my ear and began drawing. It was no use though - all I could think of in the back of my mind were the two of them. From who they were before, to them being killed by Kira, to wondering to myself who was more at risk...I couldn't ignore it.

Finally done, I put down the date in the bottom corner of the paper; 12/13/07.

Today, Mello turned fifteen.

Shaking the thought aside, I scribbled down "L. Benson" before tucking my sketchpad back in my sweater and slinking down the tree branches. Then...

_CRACK..._

It was a branch snapping under my foot. I tried to hug the trunk of the tree, but it was too late; I took a hard fall as snow pelted on me. Luckily, I was close to the ground, but it still hurt.

The force knocked the wind right out of me, and it took a minute for me to regain myself and get back up. Okay then, I thought, maybe I should just go inside.

I trudged back to the doorway, not even bothering to brush myself off. I was still sore from the fall, and by now, freezing cold. I really should've worn a coat.

I opened the door, and walked inside. I had my eyes to the floor, so I didn't see the person in front of me until I walked right into them. I looked up. It was Matt.

"Linda, you crazy idiot!" he said, putting his hands on his hips. "Now why the hell were you even out there?"

"I was...w-was doing a sketch..."

He sighed. "You're covered in snow. Let me brush you off,"

He did, but he kept smacking me in the back so hard that I nearly fell over, all while scolding me with things like 'you don't even need to stay there to get the sketch' and 'why didn't you bring a coat?' He was doing it playfully though, I could tell, but he obviously needed an excuse to smack me.

"Ow! Take it easy, I fell out of a tree, you know,"

"You what?" he said. "Aw, c'mon Lin! You could've really hurt yourself!"

I blushed, looked at the floor. "S-so-sorry," I muttered.

"Just...here, put my coat on,"

I wondered why he was wearing that around the house; had he been planning on this the whole time, and had actually known I'd been out there? Probably.

"Alright, now just follow me, okay?"

"I...can't," I said, "I can't feel my feet,"

He pouted. "Fine then. I'll just carry you,"

"Wait wha- Matt!" I said, but too fatigued to protest. "Put me down!"

"Oh stop," he said, smirking as he slung me over his shoulder. "I'm only helping,"

He sauntered down the haul without much effort; I didn't seem to weigh him down at all. It made me wonder...

"You know, for someone who mostly plays video games, you really don't seem to have trouble carrying me," I said as we made it to the common room.

"Nah, you just don't weigh all that much," he chuckled. He sat me down on the couch in front of the fire.

"By the way, that Ramen cup on the coffee table is yours," he said as he pulled out a PSP.

So he _did_ know about my escapade the whole time. "Th-thanks," I said. I took the cup in my hands and slurped up a forkfull of noodles. I immediately put the fork back in - it was still too hot.

"Um...thanks for...thanks for that," I said, sliding closer to him - my frozen body craved warmth. "For thinking about me and all,"

"Someone has to," he said without looking up from his game. "I know you're upset ever since _they_ left, but sometimes, I really think you've become suicidal,"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Oh I dunno, try like 'fell out of a tree.' So unless someone chased you up there or something, I'm assuming you had to climb _up_ in order to fall _down_. No offense, but it's usually a bad idea to do that in the winter - unless you want to get killed,"

"I was fine," I pouted. He looked over at me and laughed.

"Really?"

"Yes," I said tersely. "Believe it or not, I can actually manage on my own just fine,"

Matt frowned. "But that's just it though; you're not,"

"What?"

He paused the game and placed it on the coffee table. "You've been miserable ever since Mello and Near left, and quite frankly, you're starting to get self-destructive,"

I winced. Not entirely sure what he meant by that, I gave him a confused look.

"You don't want to join the other kids outside, you stay in bed for hours, you're skipping meals, now you're going outside without a coat and climbing trees in December...I'm waiting for the will, really,"

"Matt, I'm not going to kill myself, okay?"

"You say that, but you really worry me sometimes," Matt sighed. I never thought he'd ever say that - that he was actually 'worried' about me. He didn't act worried, but maybe I wasn't paying attention.

"You...worry about me?"

"Yes I do, more than you'd think,"

It shocked me really, to think that Matt would worry, period. He was never the type to get worked up over anything, almost to the point of a fault. And over me, of all people. It wasn't that he disliked me, but we weren't all that close...up till recently, where both of us had no one to be with but each other. He hung around me more ever since the others left; watching me paint and sketch, prodding me to play outside, sitting with me at lunch...perhaps that was his way of "worrying" about me.

"I...never knew that," I said, feeling stupid for wording it that way.

"Yeah well, I do, and you give me a lot to worry about," he said, resuming his usual tone and picking up his game.

"You never look worried,"

"Then I guess I'm just that good,"

I was still cold, my fingers, face, arms felt like ice. "I'm still cold,"

"Then come here," he said, pulling an arm around me. I eagerly snuggled in and buried my face in his shirt - he was so warm!

"You know what today is, right?" he said, wrapping one arm around me while he worked the buttons on his PSP with the other.

"Mm-hm," I nodded. "Mello's birthday today,"

"Yup," he confirmed. "Means I won the bet,"

"Bet? What bet?"

"Well, he had to switch his flight so he got to America late," he reached for something, but I didn't see what it was - I had my face in his chest. "Since he hasn't taken over the mafia before turning fifteen, I win,"

When I heard the click of a lighter, my head shot up. I glared.

"What?"

"Oh, you're worried about me killing myself, huh?" I said. "You wanna tell me I'm self-destructive and you're gonna do _that_?"

Matt let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette. "Hey, gimme a break here; I made you Ramen and let you borrow my coat - hell, I carried you to the couch, for God's sakes!"

"That's not what I mean," I said. "Don't you know those things cause cancer?"

He defiantly took another puff. "You went outside without a coat on; you'll die of pneumonia,"

"That's not the same thing and you know it,"

"Whatever," he shrugged. "So you're not the only one trying to kill themselves here. Besides, it relieves stress,"

"Matt," I shoved him. "You just got through telling me you were worried because I was hurting myself; you're such a hypocrite!"

"I never said I was any better than you," he teased. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number.

"You calling Mello?"

"Uh-huh," he put the phone up to his ear. "He's not picking up,"

He put it on hold before hollering "Hey-ah there, Yellow-Jello-Fellow-Mash_mellow_!" I couldn't help cracking up, and he had to shush me before going on.

"Yeah, I'd sing Happy Birthday, but naw, that's too cliche; Okay, ready?"

He looked over at me. "Hey, Lin? Remember the song I taught you last week?"

"Mm...yeah," I said.

"Okay then, would you care to open up for me?"

"W-what?"

"Yes, I mean it. You start me off here,"

"But...you know I'm not that good,"

"Who said you needed to be good at it?" he snickered.

"Hold on a minute.._.Linda_ offered to help me with this one,"

_'Offered?'_ I thought. B_y 'offered' he must mean told me I had no choice._

"Right, well..." I cleared my throat and nervously began. _"This was a triumph,"_

_"I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS,"_

_"It's hard to overstate my satisfaction,"_

The two of us sang the rest together.

_"Aperture Science; We do what we must because we can."_

_"Except the ones who are dead..."_

_"But there's no sense crying over every mistake..."_

And then came the chorus.

_And when you're dying I'll be still alive,_

_And when you're dead I will be still alive,_

_Still alive,_

_Still alive._

"Okay, okay...hey, attention people of Wammy's House!" he shouted as a group of kids ran in. "It's Mello's birthday today!"

He rallied everyone up to sing Happy Birthday. Apparently, at some point Mello had finally picked up the phone.

"Matt..."

"Mello! Hey, me and Linda left you a message...or do you just want us to sing it again?"

Mello probably didn't know what to say. "I heard the whole thing actually; now that damn _Portal_ song is stuck in my head,"

"My work here is done. Oh, hey wait...I wanted to tell you -"

"You won the bet, I know,"

"Heh heh, yeah. So you know what that means, right?"

"Yeah; it means you don't have to sell your X-box and I have to..."

"You have to what? C'mon, just say it,"

"I know you've got me on speaker, idiot,"

He snickered. "Say it anyway; we all wanna hear,"

I heard Mello mumble 'asshole' on the other end, then continue saying "Right: I have to call up Near and say 'I love you,'"

Everyone, including me, burst out laughing.

"And quickly hang up my disposable cell phone before he can trace it,"

"No; you say 'I love you racist-princess-sweetie,' and then hang up,"

"Matt, you're an asshole,"

"Love you too, hun,"

"Anything else you'd like to tell me before you make me want to kill you even more?"

"Oh, that reminds me; yes, I have wonderful news,"

"What is it?"

"I'M GOING TO AMERICA!" Matt shrieked into the phone. There was silence on the other end.

"..."

"You still there?"

"Uh...you...huh?"

"Yes, really! I'm coming to the U.S., hopefully by New Year,"

Mello, along with the other kids in the room, stood dumbfounded. Was he really serious?

"...M-Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Why?"

"Because I miss you,"

I couldn't tell; was this just him trying to get a reaction from Mello? Was he for real? I honestly had no idea what he was thinking...Matt could be so unpredictable at times...

"Alright, alright...forget I said that for now; just wishing you good luck on your taking over the mafia, happy fifteenth birthday...and that I miss my crazy chocoholic spaz of a best friend. You complete me, bro,"

"Uh-huh, yeah...well, I'll keep in touch. Linda still there?"

"Yeah,"

"Yes, Linda; see, I didn't forget about my gay computer nerd of a best friend,"

"What?" Matt looked at the phone appalled. "Whoa, I know I'm a techy and all, and I love my games, but...'nerd'? Really Mells?"

"And...you don't object to being called 'gay'?"

"Not at all,"

"O-kay,"

"Because I'm just _happy_ that I've got you!"

One thing was for sure; Matt was a riot. He would bait, tease, and make shots at Mello, and I think it's because he was so fun to be around that the two of them got along.

"Hey, good luck catching Kira,"

"Thanks,"

"Bye,"

He hung up. I laughed uncontrollably, and so did the other kids.

But...part of me was still uneasy...did he really mean he was going to America? Was he thinking of going after Kira as well? After he'd just told me that he was looking out for me! Now he wanted to get himself killed, too?

* * *

><p><strong>And there is Matt. Yes, I am aware the "gay" joke was lame. I am very sorry.<strong>

**I just love writing Matt in a fanfic; he's so funny! I totally think he'd sing a Portal song for Mello just to get it stuck in his head. And for those who don't know, here's the link to the song:** .com/watch?v=TF_IBrHsuzA

**I always pictured him as being sort of a "big brother" to Linda; I just loved their little scene together. So cute! ^_^**

**Well, this was really a big ole filler chappy, but I promise the next one will be seeing a bit more action. Till then...**

**_REVIEW!_  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 4: Morality

**Ugh, what to say...JUST SOMEONE REVIEW ALREADY asdfljlkjlfkajlkajljdsj!**

**But seriously, I've got no reviews, but hey, it's nice that people put me on the alert list...and I like the faving! ^_^**

**There will be cookies for whoever reviews this chapter. They're warm, yummy and come with chocolate chips...mmm. :D**

**Oh, and thanks to last place for reading over part of this chapter! It helped some, really. ;)**

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><p>Three certainties pervaded in the mind of Light Yagami.<p>

First, he was glad - no, glad wasn't the word...more like victorious, that he had defeated L. It was a great feeling really, to have eliminated his biggest obstacle in the way of his new world. Now, he didn't have to worry. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Second, he respected L. Now that he had to take on the job of L, and take on cases throughout the world, plus carry the secret Kira business, he had practically no life. There were several nights where he didn't sleep, and he had to figure a way to appear to be solving different cases while remaining innocent as Kira killed more people. And of course, make Kira's handiwork look so complex that he seemed stumped, but not coming off as a total idiot.

And third - and this was the hardest one to admit, but the easiest one to notice - he missed L. Sometimes, he would see the eccentric detective hunched over in the chair next to him, occasionally even trying to say something incoherent to him. Over the time they'd spent chained together during their stint with the Yotsuba group, they'd become less like rivals and more like allies. He couldn't help but acknowledge that, had he not been under threat of execution, he'd have become L's best friend.

Isn't that what L had said, though? "You are my first friend ever," Light pushed the thought aside as he stared at his computer screen - now was another case, not reminiscing. He needed to be in now.

"Hey Light, got you a coffee," said Matsuda as he handed him the cup.

"Thanks," he muttered as he eagerly sucked out the contents. It crossed Light's mind that he'd become a caffeine addict.

"You've been at this for two nights in a row - think you might need to take a day off?"

"What? No, I couldn't do that," Light retorted.

"He's right though," pointed out his father, Chief Soichiro Yagami.

"But dad," he sighed, "I can't take a day off. It's my responsibility to solve these cases, and most of all to catch Kira,"

"I know Light," nodded the chief. "But you can't keep burning the candle at both ends for so long; you'll burn out,"

"Well, if L could pull this off for as long as he did, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to," Light replied. He sipped the last of his coffee and glanced back at the screen. There was a small, blinking pop-up looking feature on the bottom of the screen. Curious, Light clicked on it.

Immediately, a window appeared with a recorded message. Someone had breached the firewall and hacked into the computer...but how?

"So L," came a voice, distorted from a synthesizer. "All this time and you still can't get a lead on Kira, eh?"

Everyone in the room jerked their heads to the computer. Light was floored.

"That's too bad," it continued, "though to be honest, I kind of had this theory; I think, that you _are_ Kira,"

"What?" Light shot up from his seat. "Who is this guy? And how did he break through our security softwear?"

"Yes, that's right; you're awfully cocky, aren't you Kira? Think you've got everybody fooled. I'll have you know that there are forces at work who as we speak, are working to capture you. They will find you,"

_What the hell?_ He kept up a calm face on the surface, remembering how he was supposed to act in front of the Task Force. "This is crazy. I mean, who does this guy think he is?" he scoffed.

"Probably just some punk trying to razz us," commented Mogi, though he too was uneasy.

"Maybe so, but how can that be if he got through our security; if it's just some casual troublemaker, then why go through all this trouble...no, he's smarter than that, whoever he is," Light remarked. "I mean, he could be just that - but we can't just let our guard down,"

"What, are you upset Kira? Believe me, not everyone is your adoring fan...we know you for what you really are. Nothing more than a pathetic idealist moron with a god complex,"

Light was seething. If this bastard were here, face to face with Light, he wouldn't bother with the Death Note - no, he'd murder this insolent asshole with his bare hands. How dare he...'moron?'

"I'm on to you Kira. You can't hide forever, and we'll find you," the recording stopped, and the window closed.

Light leaned back in his chair and laughed. "It's probably nothing, but the fact that he was able to get past our security is what worries me,"

"He might be for real, though," said Matsuda. "I mean, there are a lot of crazies out there, both for and against Kira; think maybe this guy's just...you know..."

"It could be," said the Chief. "Well Light, what do you think would be best?"

"I...I just say we do nothing - it's child's play, really, and we don't have the time to hear that,"

Meanwhile, the U.S. president was checking his e-mails. An anonymous message peaked his curiosity.

'Click here and see something HOT!' it said. With a mischievous grin, he clicked the url link. Suddenly, a YouTube video of Rick Astley singing "Never Gonna Give You Up," came on his screen.

"Shoulda guessed," he sighed, facepalming.

* * *

><p>Linda sat up on her bed. She was having a hard time taking in everything that had happened over the week...most of all Matt's abrupt announcement that he'd be going to the U.S. soon. Was he just kidding? He could've been, but the way he told Mello to just forget about the mention and ask about it later...she had to say something.<p>

And if he left...if he went off...and Kira killed him...no, he couldn't be leaving. He wasn't about to do this to her! And after he'd told her he was worried about her!

She got up and stormed out of her room.

Matt was at his usual spot, sitting on his bed playing on his Nintendo when she barged in without knocking. He glanced up before resuming his game. She marched over to him and looked at him. Finally, he put down his game and met her eyes.

"If you've got something to say, just say it," he said calmly.

"Matt..." she choked, "...I...I can't...Why Matt? Just why?"

"Uh...hey, calm down, alright? Just have a seat," he offered her a spot on the bed."What's your deal?"

"You said you were leaving for America," she spat out. "I've just been thinking about it for the past week...how come you'd do something like that? And after you tell me you're worried about me?"

"Come on Lin, take a guess," he said. "I want to help Mello catch Kira, and, yeah I care about you, but c'mon Lin, don't get offended, but he means more to me,"

Linda pouted. "I know, but...isn't this a little reckless?"

"Of course it is. Care to come with me?"

"Absolutely not!" Linda snapped. "It's completely out of the question...I mean, what would Roger -"

"Why does it matter what Roger says?" Matt countered. "So I'm breaking the rules by leaving, is that it? What else is new?"

"Matt," Linda sighed. "You can't. It's against the rules to do this. It's wrong,"

"Okay," Matt answered, "so it would be wrong for me to run away from Wammy's House. But what you're essentially saying is that to simply sit back and worry over the others while they go out and look for Kira, and you know, they're probably gonna die...that would be the right thing to do,"

"Yes," Linda answered, but then shook her head. "I mean no...I mean...I guess it's really the only choice we have,"

"So that's what you're going by? Because for you, breaking a rule is completely out of the question. You can't do it, can you? No, there's no way I could ask that from you,"

"Matt, cut it out!"

"It's true, right?" he smirked. "That's a good thing, kind of; it means you're a better person than me most of the time. But what if the 'right thing' and the 'lawful thing' are two different things?"

"Then...then if you do it right, they don't have to be,"

"Hm...then you're doing it wrong Linda," he said.

Linda couldn't back out of it - she knew he was right. Either she would have to disobey her superiors and probably do any number of questionably legal acts from there, or simply let everyone else act. But she knew that would be wrong...or would it?

"Making you think, aren't I?" Matt snickered at her stunned expression.

"I...can't."

"Huh?"

"No, I couldn't do it - just forget it, okay? I won't even tell anyone else, I won't bother you anymore,"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Alright then," he said. "You don't want to come with me, the door's right there,"

And with that, Linda walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>Mello sulked in the alleyway, rubbing the swollen welt on his right cheek. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, and he nearly knew he'd probably get this, but it still pissed him off. He pulled out his phone - venting was about all he could do right now - and waited for someone to pick up.<p>

"What's up, Mells?"

"Well, not much really; I just found a mob group, and as expected, they didn't take a word I said seriously,"

"Aw, I'm sorry," (he heard laughter on the other end).

"It's not that," Mello sighed. "I could care less about them throwing me out on the street, but I swear to God, if that asshole Rod calls me 'pretty boy' one more time, I'll strangle him with his own entrails!"

"...I miss the days you took those anger management classes," Matt mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing,"

"Yeah, well...don't worry. I'll be giving them a nice present soon enough,"

Matt smiled. He really liked that about Mello...he was smart, cunning, and crazy as hell. Matt could hang with this guy any day - it was one of the things that he never got bored with. "You mean, you'll kill that one boss that not even Kira could take down, right?"

"That's right. Kira needs a name and a face in order to kill. I only need my switchblade," he grinned, which made the swollen right cheek throb a bit - not that he cared.

"Awesome," Matt said as he pulled out a cigarette. "Can't wait for the news of you taking over the mafia,"

"Yeah whatever - I know you don't believe me but-"

"No, actually I think you really can pull it off," Matt let out a puff of smoke. He heard a knock on his door. "Hang on a sec,"

When he opened it, he saw Linda. "Um, Matt? I uh...I need help packing my things,"

The redhead started laughing uncontrollably. Linda started flushing, wondering if he'd just pulled some kind of prank on her.

"Aw Lin, you little rebel!" he finally teased. "Good to see you finally came around. But...I'm not leaving right now," he said, catching his breath.

"Huh?" Linda was still lost.

"Lin, look around," Matt gestured to his room - littered with junk food, dirty clothes, and a box of cereal. "Do I look like I'm leaving tomorrow?"

"Well, I mean, I figured it would make sense to leave soon,"

"Yes, but I'd prefer to beat the holiday rush, thank you. And also, you can back out at any time,"

"No Matt, not now - I've made up my mind, I can't back out now,"

"Relax Lin. It's not like this is some stupid kid's show where everyone's gotta be a hero,"

Lin pouted. "It's...look, you have to understand. I'm about to do things that are probably immoral, illegal, and most likely painful. The least I can do is stick to some integrity here,"

"Whatever,"

"Oh, and Matt?"

"Yeah Lin?"

She smiled ruefully. "Thanks for that. What you said earlier,"

He shrugged. "Yeah well, a good friend gives you a shoulder to cry on. A great friend gives you a kick in the pants,"

Linda giggled. "Heh, I needed that,"

The last bit of advice Linda heard from him were the words "Pack lightly,"


	6. Chapter 5: Cold

**Thank you so much to Twilightfairy for being the first to review this story! *hands out cookie***

**Well, this chapter was...er, odd, I guess. It was funny doing a Christmas-y chapter when it's not even Halloween yet - it's okay though, because the Christmas aisle in Wal-Mart inspired me to write this chapter. Make of that what you will...**

**I noticed that Near isn't in this a lot, so I put him in this chapter. Let's just say it's a different side of Near that we didn't see that much of in Death Note. As for Mello...well, he's been naughty for Christmas, to say the least. No spoiling, but I don't know how bad the scene's gonna be, so the warning's just in case. Reviews are appreciated.  
><strong>

**WARNING: This chapter contains bloody, graphic scenes that might not be suitable for anyone who doesn't want nightmares for the next three days. Read with caution.**

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><p>The morning of December 24th in London was cold, grey, and foggy.<p>

In Los Angeles, however, the snow fell down in thick, fluffy clusters that stuck in the golden-blond hair of Mihael Keehl, as he plotted the murder of the head of the mafia. He knew neither his name nor his face, but that didn't matter - he had his switchblade, and that was all he needed.

It was going to be an interesting Christmas, wherein Mello would deliver a very bloody present to the mafiazzi. Kind of unorthodox, really, but meaningful. Symbolic, even.

Or not.

Christmas Eve over Tokyo came with a torrent of snow, which resulted in several delays and even cancellations of work and school. After much nagging from his family, Light Yagami decided to take the day off work. It was Christmas anyway (never mind the fact that his family wasn't even Christian), so he agreed without much trouble.

In New York, it was business as usual among the members of the SPK. Near was readily working out Kira's murder-patterns while playing with his toys, which were about the only two things on his mind. Kira and toys. Almost what most kids thought of around Christmas...kind of.

Then, out of the blue, Near received a call.

"Hey, Near? Naters, is that you?"

He recognized the voice on the other end. It was Matt.

"Matt, why do you insist on calling?"

"You know there's a cute girl back here at Wammy's House who misses you like crazy?"

"Matt, why is that even important to me? I'm working on the Kira investigation right now,"

"I understand that. Have you pinned any suspects yet? I want to know,"

Near twirled his hair with his finger. Why did Matt care about the investigation, anyway? Was he just in it to help Mello? Not that he cared, really. "I've suspected Light Yagami as Kira, mainly because he's taken over as the new L,"

"Whoa, really?"

"Yes, really,"

"I mean...'Light Yagami?' Wow, and I thought _my_ parents were cooked when they named me,"

"Is there a more relevant reason for you calling, Matt?"

"I _am_ interested in the Kira investigation," he said. "but I also wanted to tell you, you're still a Wammy's orphan, and us folks back here miss you. We'd like a letter or an e-mail some time,"

Near lined up some dice in a square on the floor. He sighed. "Alright Matt. I didn't think you'd um, miss me so much,"

"Whoever said I was the one who missed you?"

Near raised an eyebrow.

"Uh Near...you didn't hang up, did you?"

"Oh, uh..." Near blushed a bit - he wasn't that great on the phone. "Sorry...well, who do you mean then?"

_Wow, I'm just glad she's not here listening to this,_ Matt thought. _He's so clueless sometimes_. "Linda,"

"Linda?"

"Yeah, that 'cute girl' I mentioned a minute ago. You know, brown hair, pigtails, likes to draw..."

"Oh," Near said. "She...misses me?"

"She's worried about you. After all, you're tracking down a supernatural killer,"

"Um, okay then,"

"Just let her know you're alright, 'kay?"

"Uh, yeah,"

"Do you need the number?"

"...yes,"

Matt facepalmed. _Ugh, Near, you are _so_ autistic! _"Fine. I'll just e-mail it or whatever. How 'bout that?"

"Sure," Near felt a bit awkward, talking to Matt about a girl. It wasn't like he forgot Linda...but how come she was worried? This _was_ what he was supposed to be doing after all._  
><em>

"So this 'new L' is named Light Yagami, huh?" Matt asked. "That's cool. Have you made any effort to contact him yet?"

Near smirked. "Not yet - we have to let some time lapse a bit in order for him to let his guard down. No one's made contact just yet, and we probably won't for a while,"

"I see,"

"We're also suspecting a few Kiras...one in America, one in Eastern Europe, one in Western Europe, and Light Yagami as the Kira targeting most of Asia,"

"So now they're global?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Or, it's possible Kira has enough information to make fake leads and string murders throughout the world,"

"Like sock puppets*?"

"What?"

"Never mind. Well, I gotta go. Bye,"

"Bye," Near hung up the phone.

Matt smiled. He may have been the most brilliant mind in Wammy's House, and L's immediate successor, but Near was still Near. The same kid who could calculate equations like a machine, solve puzzles like a computer, was just too damn clueless to figure out that Linda had been crushing on him this whole time. Okay, Linda had a "secret" crush on Near, but anyone who paid enough attention to her could add two and two together.

Except Near. That boy was simply oblivious.

* * *

><p>The night of Christmas Eve, Mello readied his switchblade.<p>

It was going to be a red Christmas.

The plan was simple, since he'd already figured out where the mob boss was staying - and he'd even set things up so that he'd be easy to take down. All it took was a mere neck snap, the decapitating was mostly for effect.

The whole thing seemed to take a second; he came up behind and quickly grabbed the man's head, jerking it violently to the side with a sharp crack. Then came the hard part - the cutting.

He'd envisioned the process of it before, it seemed so simple - just saw off the guy's head and be done. At first, he'd wished he'd gotten a bigger blade for the job.

But then it got worse. He had to keep saying to himself 'don't look at his face...don't look at his face', and at least twice, he nearly gagged. It wasn't like he was wimping out...yeah, true, this guy was a ruthless criminal, but it didn't make hacking through his neck at all pleasant.

Mello was sure he was going to be sick by now - he was just barely halfway through the job, and the clotted blood under his fingernails was starting to chap up his hands. Finally, he just decided to see if the stupid head would tear off - it did, after lots of tugging and a lot of help from his knife. By the time he was done, he felt like throwing up - he never wanted to see red ever again.

But he had to finish this. So he picked the disembodied head up (trying not to look in the blank, dead eyes of the man he just killed) and put it in the bag he had hidden in his coat. He wanted to wash his hands off first, but now was not the time - right now, he had a job to do.

He turned his thoughts to the mafiazzi, the mob group who'd laughed at him when he told them how much of an asset he could be. Fair enough, Mello never expected them to take him too seriously at first, but...they had completely rejected him without a second thought. He hated that, and he knew they'd have to pay for it.

Once he'd made it to the alleyway, he looked for the entrance to their current hideout - sure enough, they were there, almost waiting for him. Now he could at least be done with this - just holding the bag was getting to be jarring. He kicked open the door. He found them all in the middle of a poker game.

"Oh look who it is - pretty boy's come to visit!"

That did it.

"I brought you something I thought you'd find interesting," he said coolly, looking Rod Ross square in the eye.

He grabbed the head out of the bag and tossed it on the table. Blood splattered on everyone's faces. It was the head of the mob boss, the very same one Mello said he would take down. The whole room was silent.

"Merry Christmas," he said, before slamming the switchblade into the poker table. He flashed an evil smile before calmly strolling out the door.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy Halloween is more like it...ugh, I just couldn't imagine him having too much fun with that. Yeah, it would sound great in fiction-fiction, but this is fiction that takes place in the real world, so I never considered Mello as being that sick. <strong>

**I get the feeling I should've put some kind of "buffer" between the adorable "LOL, Near's autistic" scene and "Mello killed a guy" scene. I think it somehow made the first one inappropriate.**

**Anyways...pwease review!  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 6: Breakout

_Early that Christmas morning, Linden Benson got a call._

_"H-hello?"_

_"Hi, uh, Linda?"_

_"Near!" she almost jumped when she heard his voice. "Oh my gosh, Near! Are you alright? How have things been with the SPK?"_

_"Uh..." Near didn't know what to say. He wasn't too happy Matt had asked him to do this. "...uh, okay, I guess. It's alright. How are things with you?"_

_"Not much here at Wammy's, just same old-same old. I'm just happy to know you're doing okay and all,"_

_Near tilted his head sideways. "O-of course I'd be doing okay. I mean, I haven't been seeing too much change in Kira's murder patterns, though he seems to be stopping right now,"_

_"I guess even serial killers take holidays off," Linda chuckled. She suddenly heard something knock over near her door, at which she turned around to just barely see a red blurr whiz past the open door._

_"So, well, it was really nice of you to call me on Christmas, you know," she continued on._

_"Um...well, you're welcome," Near twirled his hair nervously. "Uh, well, Merry Christmas, Linda,"_

_"Merry Christmas Near,"_

_"Goodbye,"_

_"Bye," _

_She hung up the phone, and tiptoed out the doorway to find who'd been listening in on her. She knew who it was, but that wasn't the point._

_"Linda! You should totally come out here and try one of these candy canes!" Matt said as he popped out from behind a corner with a candy cane in his mouth. _

_"Matt...um, why were you eavesdropping on me?"_

_"I don't know what you're talking about Lin," he said, looking away with a smirk. "So, who called?"_

_"It was Near," Linda beamed. "He just called in to wish me a Merry Christmas. I just wonder how he got the number to my cell..."_

_"I think he's known that for a while,"_

_"Disposable cell phone?" she raised an eyebrow._

_"He's just that good,"_

_"But...how come you were listening in on me?"_

_"Well, I could always tell you, but there's still something that I'm sure is a brand new art kit that will make you care less about whatever I just did,"_

_"Matt, I just want...wait, really?"_

* * *

><p>Around 4:30 to 5:00 in the morning, I was ready.<p>

This was my last day at Wammy's House. Most likely.

Linda headed for my room, where I was already waiting for her. The two of us had prepared ourselves with a backpack each, containing a week's worth of clothes, a small bag of toiletries, and enough money between us to afford Ramen cups for the month. I had everything worked out once they made it to America, but Linda still thought I'd taken "pack lightly" a little too far. She was just pedantic, I said.

"Okay, so I've got all my stuff with me,"

"Wait Linda, can I see your sketchbook for a second?" I asked.

"What? Um, well, it's kind of -" before she could finish, I took it and gave it a good skim. I saw all sorts of art with "L. Benson" and "Linden" under the signature. This wasn't good.

"Sorry Lin, but you can't take this with you,"

"But...why?" She asked.

"Look at this," I pointed at her sig in one of the sketches. "It's signed 'L. Benson'. You've got Linden written in places too. It's too much of a risk for you to be carrying anything with your real name on it,"

"But Kira won't know it's my real name!" she argued.

"He'll test it out anyway, and with your real name and face, you're as good as dead," I said. I put the book down. "Sorry, but it's gotta stay here,"

She gave me a look like some lost, dejected kitten. "I'm sorry...I'll get you another one once we get there. Heck, if there's one at the airport, I'll buy it. How about that?"

Still, the look was there. I got the message - it was as good as asking her to give up a security blanket. She had to lug that damn thing around...

"Okay, fine, you can bring the notebook. But you can't let it leave your person. Don't even drop it, got it?"

"Thanks Matty!" she glomped me on the spot.

"Alright then, now we just leave this place," I said, getting up and walking across the room toward the window.

"But how are we getting out? I mean, without using the front..."

"Lin, I told you I got this worked out, didn't I? We're going out my bedroom window," I opened the window and popped out the screen. There was always a trellis propped against the outer wall, and anyone who could carefully scale it could make it in and out of Wammy's easily climbing it.

"Out there? Um...are you sure?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, actually there's an underground network of tunnels running through a doorway in the back of my closet,"

"Wha...oh. But, I don't know if I could..."

After a discussion on how we get down there without falling and who was supposed to go first, I made my way down the trellis, Linda following after me. I kept looking down, making sure to get a good foothold, but when I actually looked up, I saw, well...

"Ya know Lin, your legwarmers match your panties. Is that on purpose?"

"MATT!" she shrieked, frantically covering her butt.

"Lin, keep it down. We're trying to _sneak_ out, not announce it to the world. You know,_ stealth_?"

"You're such a pervert!" she hissed.

"Pervert? Nah, I was merely making an observation. Very excellent fashion sense,"

And of course, she had to cover her panties with her other hand, so she fell off the trellis. Luckily, I caught her, but I think you can guess what happened. And she had landed smack on my ribcage.

"Nnn...Lin, p-please get off me," I wheezed.

"S-s-sorry Matt," she groaned as she rolled off. I got up and brushed myself off.

"C'mon Linda, let's go," I grabbed her arm and headed off.

We snaked through a few alleyways, weaved in and out of some backyards, and finally came to a particularly wealthy section of town. You know, the kind of rich snobs who park their expensive cars out on the sidewalk...

"Have you been here before?" Linda whispered to me.

"Yeah, I've actually checked this place out a few times," I said. Just then, I saw it - cobalt blue, _gorgeous_ Lamborghini. "Lin, wait here," I said, bolting toward it.

I got a better look at it - the metal flake was grand enough, but then I noticed the custom ghost flames on the side. The interior came with black leather seats. It was like something out of a dream.

And the key was still in the car. Perfect.

I motioned for Linda to come over, and opened the door to the car. It wasn't even locked. At this point, whoever owned this thing was just asking for this.

"Matt, what are you doing?" Linda looked at me, horrified.

"Getting a ride," I said. "Hop in,"

"Matt, no you can't."

"Seriously Lin, how did you expect us to get to the airport?" I turned the key and started up the car. The engine purred beautifully.

"Do you even know how to drive?"

"Uh, yeah. Kind of," I jerked the steering wheel to the left just to freak her out, then reached over and fastened her seat belt. "Yeah, you're gonna need this,"

I decided that this was going to be a great joyride - made even better with a screaming passenger next to me, so long as she didn't try to kill me. To be fair, I wasn't driving in any way considered "safe," but I wasn't being a total maniac either. In any case, I don't think it warranted getting my left ear drum blasted out.

"...and you blew through another red light, and what happens if we get pulled over? And FYI, I still haven't gotten over your little comment about my underwear! Matt are you even listening?"

"Nope,"

"Stop this right now! Please!"

I groaned, looked in the rearview, and noticed a police car tailing behind me. "There's a cop,"

"W-what?"

"I think I was speeding,"

"Of course you were speeding you idiot!" Linda blurted out, a crack in her voice. "This is awful! I never should've trusted you."

"What?"

She started sniffling - here came the waterworks. "I don't want to go to jail, Matt. How are we supposed to get to the US if we're incarcerated?"

"We are not getting incarcerated," I said, pulling over on the side of the road. Once I saw the cop get out, I got an idea. Linda was, at this point, bawling her freaking eyes out, so I leaned in and put an arm around her.

"Linda, listen to me because this is important," I whispered in her ear. "Whatever you hear, don't say anything. Maybe nod yes or no, but that's it, got it?"

"Mm-m-hm," she nodded shakily.

"And one more thing - keep up the tears. Think of...dead puppies," I pulled away and rolled down the window. I had my fake ID ready as the cop came over to me. I wasn't exactly the best at this, but I'd give it a shot.

"Hello officer," I said, pulling up my goggles and managing my best puppy dog eyes.

"You know you were going thirty miles over the speed limit?" Great, this guy was a jerk. At least it wasn't a female cop.

"Oh um...I'm sorry,"

"How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen," I said. It was hardly believable, but I could at least pass for sixteen-ish on a good day. "And uh, here's my ID,"

I handed him the fake ID, and for effect, decided to give Linda (still crying) a small side-hug. "You're doing great," I whispered to her.

"Listen, um, officer," I said, trying to pull off a convincing act. "I know I shouldn't be speeding, but our Aunt Margret is terminally ill. This could be our last chance to see her...my sister's been a total wreck over the whole thing,"

"Is that true?" he asked Linda. She nodded.

"I don't completely buy your story, but I'll let this slide. Still, I'd like to follow you to the hospital,"

"Not a problem sir," I said. He got back in his car, and I rolled up my window.

"Nice job Lin," I said. I really did feel bad though - I never meant to make her cry. "I don't think I'd get off that easy without you,"

"B-but...but now he's gonna find out, be-because what are we gonna do about -"

"Just relax, I've got it under control," I said. I knew exactly what I would do now.

We'd lose this cop before I finished my next cigarette.

* * *

><p><strong>Ugh, I really don't know if this came out as well as I thought it would...Matt was supposed to narrate, but sometimes I don't always capture Matt as much as I like to. Still...LOL at Linda's panties! They match her leg warmers. Consider it Linda-fanservice. :D<strong>

**Well, there is a part two coming up, but due to only having one review in this story, it's not coming out until more people start reviewing. This thing has way too many faves for it to be just a "not enough people read it" thing. I like faves, but please give me reviews. You know you can even post anonymous ones.**

**But enough ranting. Thanks to all the favers and what not. And to AskMatt on deviantART for giving me the "racist princess sweetie" thing from Chapter 3!**


	8. Chapter 7: Reveal

**Matt's POV. WARNING: Epic car chase scene should not be attempted. Long chapter.**

* * *

><p>"Lin, okay, here's the plan," I said as I glanced back in the rear view. "We play it safe for a couple of blocks, and then we raise hell,"<p>

"O-o-okay," she said shakily. I heard her swallow hard. I snickered.

"Just relax," I replied as I lit up a cigarette. "Don't you trust me?"

"No,"

I drove at a normal pace for a few blocks, even remembering to stop at the traffic lights (it still didn't stop Lin from occasionally critiquing me though). Once we made it to the highway, however, I revved up the engine and let everything loose.

"Gah! Matt, please don't get us killed!"

I scoffed. "I won't. I told you, we lose the cop, make it to the airport, and by then, the car would've probably broke down. We'll be fine,"

"I don't believe you!"

I didn't care. This was like _Grand Theft Auto_ for me; I decided to do donuts on the freeway just for the hell of it.

"MAAAAATTT!"

"Yes Linda?"

"I HATE YOU!"

"Look! We're almost at the airport!" I chuckled as I weaved through traffic. I'd just about lost the cop car by now, but it wouldn't be easy for a custom-painted Lamborghini to blend in. No problem though.

"Alright Lin, by now, you better just hold on to the seat,"

"Hold on to the- AAHHHH!"

I veered hard to the right, sending the car spinning out of control. I jerked it this way and that as I sent it turning about, and just barely negotiated a turn before finally losing the cop. I made my way into the airport parking lot, and finally swerved into a spot.

I looked over at Linda - she was completely pale by now, sweating, and panting. She was gripping her sketchbook tightly in her hands.

"Damn! That was fun!" I laughed, letting out a stream of smoke. She immediately flung open the door of the car, jumped out onto the nearby patch of grassy area, and threw herself on it.

"LAND!"

I rolled my eyes as I got out of the car. "Aw, c'mon Lin! It wasn't that bad!"

"Yes it was! Matt, I thought you were gonna kill us both! We were supposed to come here so we could help Mello and Near, not play your stupid games!"

"Linda," I sighed, tossing my cigarette to the ground. "Come on Lin, I was only trying to have some fun. Besides, like I said, how did you expect us to get to the airport anyway?"

Linda pondered that a moment. "Well...hold on a minute; you said you had everything worked out, right? There's just something about all of this...the disposable cell phones, the lack of supplies, the sheer amount of "worked out" things you have...it feels like there's something set up here. What are you not telling me, Matt?"

I smirked. So she was catching on to the plan. "Ah, you're seeing it too, huh?"

"Seeing what?" she put her hands on her hips.

"Listen, I was told not to explain everything until we got to New York, but I'll divulge a bit of the details; let's just say I was kind of put up to this thing,"

"By who? Was it Mello?"

"No, not Mello, but...someone," I tried to avoid naming anyone. "If you keep pressuring me, I'll just deny who it is,"

"Okay then...does anyone else know about this 'plan' you were put up to?"

"No one besides you," I rubbed the back of my neck. "And...once we make it to New York, I promise I won't have to steal anymore cars - really,"

"But...why can't you tell me anything?" she asked.

"Um...you weren't supposed to come, originally, but - you know what, can we just get our stuff together and head for the airport already? We're gonna miss our flight," I grabbed her arm and went to the car to get our bags.

Once we were in the airport, Linda wouldn't stop prying for more details. I just skirted around the answers, refusing to reveal little more than bits and pieces. She was smart enough to figure out a few parts of it, though.

"The cell phones were planned, I know that much; there shouldn't have been a reason for us to get two of them for Christmas. L could've known in advance that Kira would kill him, so he might have got those...but why wouldn't he get them for Mello and Near instead? It just doesn't make sense,"

"Don't sweat it, Lin," I said. "I told you, you'll know everything in New York,"

"I can't wait till then! I wanna know now!"

"But you won't," I said. "Right now, you'll take off your shoes and have the nice people suspect you of terrorism,"

Fortunately, that shut her up until we made it to our seats. I was so glad I'd packed three cans of Red Bull with me - trans-Atlantic flights meant massive jet lag. This was gonna kill me.

"Hey Lin, why don't you take the window seat," I said. I knew she'd rave about the view, the sunset and whatever else she saw. It was going to make a great sketch.

"Thanks," she said, a bit flatly. I took a seat next to her.

"No problem,"

"Could you at least tell me this?"

"No,"

"Do Near and Mello know anything?"

I raised an eyebrow. What harm would it be in telling her? "No, they don't know. Mello knows about me coming to the U.S, obviously, and Near, I think he's aware of it too, but neither knows about the plan yet,"

"'Yet'?"

Oops. "Stop it with the questions, Lin," I deadpanned, whipping out my Gameboy. At long last, I got a chance with it. At least she didn't pry for more answers for a while. It helped that it was her first flight, so she was busy getting used to the idea of being in the air for several hours. And then she started bugging me to "look out the window! OMG the sunset's incredible!"

"Lin, could I just get through this one level?"

"Aw, come on Matty, you really have to see it!"

I sighed. "Fine," I said, glancing over. She wasn't kidding - it was pretty something. You could just barely make out a piece of the land we were leaving down toward the ocean, just bits of it through a layer of clouds...

"Here- it's even better if you take your goggles off," she started pulling them up. I glanced over at her.

"I just thought you'd like to see it," she smiled.

"Thanks," I said, smiling back at her. She got annoying sometimes, but really, Linda had moments where she was endearing enough for you to end up not killing her for it anyway.

"And I didn't even get to use my art kit," Linda pouted. "Am...am I ever gonna get to see it again? I mean, since it's back at Wammy's House..."

"It's taken care of, Lin," I said, readjusting my goggles. "Didn't I tell you I've got everything worked out?"

"I'm still trying to figure out who put you up to it,"

"You won't,"

"And why not?"

"Because," I pulled out a stick of gum. "you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you right now,"

"I would,"

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, really. I think I'd believe anything,"

That was the scary part - she would. "New York," I said. "Not saying anything till then,"

She pouted again. I didn't care, so long as she was staying calm and not aggravating me half to death. Why couldn't she just take "it's under control" and leave it at that?

Pretty soon, Linda was getting tired. Even I decided to call it quits - yes, I was that tired, that even DS could wait. Still, I wasn't tired just yet, but I wanted to think over the plan. By now, the gum I'd been chewing had long since lost its flavor, so I shoved in another piece.

_Minori had told me that Linda coming along was fine, in fact, ideal,_ I thought. _But what to do when the moment of truth comes? Still, it's not like_ he _can just ask her to head back to London or anything..._

Linda was fighting off sleep, trying to blink her eyes open. Her head leaned against the window, desperately trying to catch what was probably an amazing view of the Atlantic at 37,000 ft.

Still, maybe trolling Kira wasn't the best idea. I only did it to mess with his head anyway...still, maybe Near was right. Maybe sending Kira on the alert isn't such a good idea.

That was a pretty proud moment for me though - to think that I'd taunted a supernatural killer, someone who needed only a name and a face. Thing was, those were the exact things I'd kept from him, and he'd probably never know. It wasn't just me being cocky. I was mad at him for what he'd done to L, and so my message was revenge. I wanted to let him know that some of us aren't his adoring groupies or cowering imbeciles who let him do whatever the hell he wanted.

And it was a warning - and maybe one I shouldn't have been nice enough to give out. I wanted him afraid, because that's how he made us feel. No, not just the criminals, but people who were just doing their damn jobs. I could always tell him that his pursuers were a brainiac autistic albino and a mad-as-hell ruthless pretty boy with anger issues. Somehow, I just didn't think it would sound that threatening.

Linda had finally given up on struggling to stay awake. I leaned back in my seat as I watched her slump against the chair in front of her._ If she even knew what she'd actually gotten herself into..._

Then, she scooted in closer and curled into my lap. _We're about to get into some crazy-ass disaster,_ _you might as well cuddle up now..._

* * *

><p>The first thing I felt was Linda nudging me awake. "Matt," she whispered. "Wake up,"<p>

"No Lin, we're not officially on the ground yet," I mumbled, refusing to open my eyes.

"We will be in a few seconds,"

"Then give me a few seconds," I opened one eye narrowly and glanced around the tightly-packed plane. The aircraft jolted violently, sending my other eyelid open. I groaned.

"Now you'll tell me everything, right?" Linda clutched my arm and stared up at me with her big hazel eyes. Oh yeah, I remembered.

"Could you wait till we get our ride?"

"Ride?"

"Yes, or at least until I've had a Red Bull,"

"Wait, you mean someone's waiting for us? Who is it? Is it Minori?"

I smirked. The light above indicated that we could finally take off our seatbelts. "Who?"

"Matt, don't play dumb, you know; strawberry-blonde hair, ponytail, glasses..."

"Yup, that one," I unbuckled and got up. I felt dizzy, tired, and like I'd just been hit by a truck. I wanted to sit back down.

"Hey, can't you at least tell me a little more?" Linda prompted.

"No," I said flatly, staggering into the airport.

"But we're here. In New York,"

"Lin, just wait. You'll know everything in less than an hour,"

"Fine," she pouted. I grabbed a Red Bull out of my bag and sucked the whole thing down in practically one gulp. At least it made me blink. "And why the hell didn't you get jet lag?"

"I did," she said. "It's just...if you told me something..."

"Lin, do you know what I will do if you ask me again?" Nothing, actually. Not much I could do with all these people watching...

"Okay, fine,"

We finally staggered out of the airport, as I racked my brain for the car I was supposed to look out for. Ford, right? Something American...

"Hey! Matt, Linda!" someone cheerily called out. That was it.

"Minori!" Linda waved as the red Mustang pulled up to meet us. See, I knew it was American.

"Oh, Linda, you've gotten so big! I don't think I've seen you since you were seven!"

"Hi Min," I waved drowsily.

"Hello there Matt...I could've sworn you were a brunette the last time we met,"

"Um..." Oh, right. The hair dye still hadn't come out. Mello was right, this stuff lasted a long time. "Uh, well, long story, but it's all Mello's fault,"

"Okay then," she chuckled. "So, have you told Linda anything yet?"

"No, he hasn't," Linda said, looking over at me. "He said he couldn't say anything until we made it here,"

Minori nodded. "Alright then," she dropped her previous jovial demeanor and switched to a more serious tone. "Linda, there are a few things you should know," she said, rolling up the windows. I could see Linda on the edge of her seat right now.

"First of all, you should understand that this is L's plan,"

"Uh...L? You mean he set all this up?"

"Yes,"

"But...but L's dead, isn't he? Didn't...didn't Kira kill him?"

"L is alive," Minori said.

"..."

"Linda? Hey, you okay there? Minori, I think we broke her,"

"W-what?" Linda barely managed to say. I was trying so hard not to crack up right now - her face was utterly epic!

"L decided to fake his death, but he neglected resetting his deadman's switch, so it immediately sent out a signal to Wammy's House on December the first announcing his death,"

Linda just stared.

"His plan was to contact Mello and Near and have the two of them work with him to solve the Kira case, but by the time I reached any contact with Wammy's House, both of them had already left. So I suggested to L that I contact Matt,"

"She did, and he told me everything. Trust me, I had about the same look on my face when he explained it," I snickered.

"Originally, L was hoping to get Matt to help, and have him contact Mello and Near and see if he could convince them to cooperate..."

"I only needed to convince Mello, but that's impossible, so it wouldn't have worked,"

"...but then he told me that you decided to come along. I remembered you; the little artist with an incredible memory..."

"And so, L is currently at a hotel somewhere in New York," I finished up. "I-it is here, right Min?"

"Yes, but he's only staying here for the week. L has been hopping from one hotel to another ever since he faked his death - he has no access to his funds now, so he's practically broke. He doesn't seem to mind, so long as he can steal the hotel soaps," Minori giggled.

"So...so L has been alive all this time..." Linda pondered, dumbfounded. "...a-and, he wants us to solve the case and catch Kira. So this whole thing..."

"...was planned," I finished for her.

And she went blank again.

"Oh my gosh! This is amazing!" Linda suddenly burst out. "You-you mean we're going to find Kira? L wants us to? Oh wow, this is great! This is so cool! Ha-ha!" Linda let out a massive giggle fit. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy in a long time.

"So, you're sure you wanna do this?" I asked.

"Of course I do, Matty! Oh, why didn't you tell me all of this before!" she hugged me real tight and let out another burst of giggles. "Mmm...can't wait to meet L. Can't wait to solve the case! Matt...heh, you knew all this the whole time, hm!"

She was in one of those moods again. You know, where she got_ real_ snuggly and giddy. Some would call it cloying, but this was when she was at her cutest.

Great. Now I started to feel guilty for dragging her into this.

* * *

><p><strong>Hoo boy...surprised? That's right folks - Matt was the Kira-troll, and L had planned on this whole thing happening. I'm not sure if he was going for that car chase scene though...O.o<strong>

**Minori...had to put some physical description of her, I just had no idea what she'd look like. Nothing like you expected though, right? :3**

**Linda is adorable! Maybe just because I've looked up a ton of her fanarts, and you know, they're ALWAYS cuter in the fanart! :P**

**Anyway, you found the massive plot twist, now pwease REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 8: Lawliet

**Okay, a little heads up: There's a MASSIVE reference to a scene from Relight 2, during the Wammy's House flashback, so you'd have to see it first to get the beginning of this chapter. Yes, I think that little girl with the pigtails who asks L what he's afraid of, that's Linda. I mean, who else, right? **

**Anyways, just trying to portray L's thought process is hard, and it's even harder to translate into English once I'm "in the zone". I really like portraying the relationship between L and Light though...and no, I don't mean "that" kind of relationship.**

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><p>"What are you doing standing out there by yourself?"<p>

Light watched L out alone in the rain, getting utterly drenched. He looked over at him and put a hand to his ear, not quite hearing what Light asked him.

"What are you doing standing out there by yourself?" he repeated, this time louder.

L repeated his responding gesture, this time smiling. Light rolled his eyes. He just came out in the pouring rain and walked up to him.

"What are you doing, Ryuzaki?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm not doing anything in particular," L replied without looking at him. "it's just that...I can hear the bell,"

"The...bell?" Light looked at him sideways.

"Yes. The sound of the bell is unusually loud today,"

Light wouldn't understand, but L knew that. He heard them, and that was all. As he stood out by the window, looking out at the city lights and cars driving this way and that, the sound of the bell rang back in his ears. Louder than ever today...

And Light, asking him why he was standing out in the rain alone.

Light; ever since he'd first met that boy, something about Light Yagami had always made L uneasy. He was a perfect student, someone who believed in justice and wanted to do the right thing...maybe Light seemed too perfect.

But there was always something a bit off about him. It made L nervous. Scared even.

_"Can you tell me if there's something you're not good at, or maybe something you're scared of?"_

Funny how that one question from one of the orphans at Wammy's House instantly came to mind. He remembered who had asked it too...she was that one girl, the top student in Wammy's after Matt, Mello and Near, but somewhat self-deprecating and timid. She asked him if he was afraid of anything.

And he was. He was afraid of monsters.

_"There are many kinds of monsters in this world. Monsters who will not show themselves and who cause trouble. Monsters who abduct children; monsters who devour dreams; monsters who suck blood, and monsters who always tell lies,"_

"Tell me, Light, from the moment you were born, has there ever been a time where you've actually told the truth?"

Light was a monster. A monster of the lying type.

_"Lying monsters are a real nuisance. They are much more cunning than other monsters,"_

And Light was certainly cunning. Cunning enough to convince L that maybe, just maybe, he was innocent. When all the evidence was stacked against him, he still managed to connive his way into seeming innocence. Sharp as a tack, that manipulative little bastard.

_"They pose as humans, even though they have no understanding of the human heart. They eat, even though they've never experienced hunger. They study, even though they have no interest in academics. They seek friendship, even though they do not know how to love,"_

Why couldn't they see it? Why did the Task Force, the police, the students at Toho University, and Chief Soichiro Yagami himself, see that Light wasn't quite right? That there was just something off about him? L couldn't be the only one. Or perhaps, he could be...

_"If I were to encounter such a monster, I would likely be eaten by it. Because in truth, I am that monster,"_

That was what scared him the most about Light. About Kira. It was that, in reality, Light was simply L depicted through a mirror, of sorts. The image was changed, distorted as L saw it, be it better or worse, but still, it was a reflection of himself.

Light was, simply put, L in a different light; or L was Light, in a darker light.

In low light. He was Lawliet - the darker, more cynical version of Light.

That was what scared L. The fact that he was so similar to this person. Did that mean he wasn't so different from Kira, then?

But then, what if Kira and Light were two separate entities? Two different people, just within the same person? Multiple personalities certainly wasn't unthinkable for Light.

Who's to say though, that he wasn't like Kira? How else could he plan out Kira's every move and predict his actions? It was the same thing he would do too.

"Kira is childish and hates to lose,"

Kira would've gotten by a lot easier had it not been for his pride. If he had simply ignored the broadcast, L wouldn't have gotten as far, if he'd be able to get anything of a lead at all on him. Neither one spoke about it, but they both knew it was a race, and the victory of the one would mean the execution of the other.

Still, it was a race L was determined to win.

At the moment where he knew he was at a dead end, he concluded that at this point, Kira would kill him at any moment. So he took all the research that he'd collected on the Kira case up till that day and sent it to someone who had formerly worked at Wammy's House.

But then he changed his mind.

"What is it Ryuzaki?" Watari had asked him as he stood in the doorway.

"Watari, I need to think over the investigation," L had said. "By now, I'm sure that Light is in fact Kira, but I'm also pretty sure he'll kill me here and now,"

There was a pause, as they both pondered the thought of them both dying. Could they really let Kira win?

"Are you saying that you're sure Kira will win?" Watari raised an eyebrow - he knew the answer, but let L say it anyway.

"No, I can't do that. I'm too childish and I hate to lose," he smiled.

"You have a plan?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. It'll be risky, but I've already gotten Rem to divulge at least one key point; the rules in the back of the book are fake,"

From there, the two of them came to the conclusion that each would fake their own deaths, let L's successors enter the scene, and, eventually, have L, Near, and Mello organize the case so as to defeat Kira once and for all.

Except, things didn't work out quite like that.

Mello refused to work alongside Near; he hated him, out of spite maybe, and jealousy. Even if it meant avenging L's death, he absolutely wouldn't cooperate with that little bastard.

And, when Minori discovered that the both of them had left before she could reach them, it was time for plan B: call on the next person in line of succession.

Namely, Matt.

He bought two disposable cellular phones and sent them anonymously to Wammy's House, as Christmas presents for both Matt and the other Wammy's orphan he would bring along. L didn't expect Linda to want to join Matt, but after regarding her near-photographic memory, he figured she'd prove useful in the Kira case. He later bought two plane tickets, sent out fake ID's and gave out instructions for Matt the night before he and Linda were to leave for America.

His next move would be to have them monitor Kira's murder patterns for a while. They would determine the number of notebooks that were being used in the murders, and see if any new "Kira" surfaced over a period of time. First the risk of faking death, now the tedium of watching the killer.

And all while L thought about this, he could still hear the sound of that bell...

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><p><strong>I know it's short, but I didn't have anything else for this chapter. Happy L's Birthday to all!<strong>


	10. Chapter 9: Case

** Okay, so with this chapter, I had to rearrange a lot of the dialogue for the first half of it. Pffft, I'm so pedantic! But still, Matt and Linda meet L for the first time, pretty cool? Maybe I'm more excited than you guys...**

**And also, this chapter focuses a bit on Rem. I like her, she's a wonderful shinigami, and not only that, but a good person. I really hated that she died so early on. **

**If you're wondering who Guuku is, he's a shinigami mentioned in How to Read 13; he gambles, but apparently he's bad at it. And we all know about Ryuk (I would hope!)**

**Anywayz...review!**

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><p>"Well Lin, this is it," Matt said as they waited in the elevator. "We're finally meeting L in person,"<p>

Linda fidgeted anxiously next to him. "Mm-hm," she managed to say.

"Relax, it's not a job interview...uh, well, it kind of is, but honestly, you'll be fine,"

"You mean it?"

"No Linda. You will fail. It will be tragic and L will personally throw you out the window,"

"W-wha...?"

"I'm being facetious,"

"Oh, okay,"

They said nothing for a while. Finally, they reached their floor, and the doors opened up. Matt stepped out, Linda shuffling behind.

"Do you remember which room number it was?"

"B-214, I think...there it is,"

The two kids walked over to the hotel room door and knocked. This was it, the moment where the two of them would finally meet the great detective L...at which moment, Matt finally lost his cool.

"Heh, ya know, I'm actually pretty nervous myself right now," he said.

"Yeah,"

"It's actually the first time you've met him in person, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Same," he sighed, glancing down at the floor. "Yeah well...it's gonna be real neat when we actually do see him for real,"

"Mm-hm," Linda nodded. They were just trying to fill the air now, weren't they? Linda wouldn't say it, but she was thinking to herself _Why would you be worried, Matt? You're the cool computer geek - me? I'm just the artist._

"So..." she was about to ask Matt what he thought L might look like, when the door opened.

"Mr. Wammy!" the two kids said in unison.

Neither of them could help but hug him on the spot - even though they knew it wasn't the most professional thing to do, well, let's face it, they came from a line of detectives who weren't always professional, in fine Wammy tradition.

"We missed you!" Linda said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You have no idea, Mr. Wammy; we've so far fallen off a trellis, got stopped by a cop, security gave me a hard time for a lighter - a _lighter!_ - jetlag...God we're happy to see you!" Matt said.

"It's good to see you too," answered the old man, smiling. The three of them separated and resumed a more serious tone. "Now, L has decided to send for you so as to help with the Kira investigation. This is a very important assignment, one that could result in death. You must be ready for that at all costs,"

"Yeah," Matt said in a sort of too-enthusiastic-not-to-be-sarcastic tone. Linda nodded shakily. Deep down, she was screaming _I can't do this...I can't handle death - not mine, not anyone else's...I can't..._

"So we get to meet L?" Matt broke her train of thought. "He's here, right?"

"Yes, he is. He is waiting for you right now in the other room,"

By now, Linda would've been ready to have a heart attack. She was all too tempted to dash to the nearest corner and hide into it, but forced herself not to. Still, she couldn't control her suddenly moving behind Matt and looking at the floor. It was too much.

"Lin, it's okay. Relax," Matt said, even though he was a bit nervous too.

"Sorry, it's all I can do..."

"Guess what? He can still see you," Matt deadpanned. "It's those damn pigtails of yours,"

Just then, into the room stepped a man in his twenties, with messy black hair and dark, ringed eyes. His clothes were plain and kind of frumpy, and he stood in a kind of hunched-over position. Matt and Linda just stared.

"So...you're L?" Matt said.

"Yes, I am,"

Matt and Linda stared. "Just uh...funny, I...didn't know you'd be..." he didn't want to say anything rude, but he was trying to think of what to say. "Well hi!"

The two shook hands. By now, Linda wasn't so shy anymore - she was too busy being surprised at who L really turned out to be, not the person she thought he'd be, to say the least. Still, she let Matt do the talking for now, which he probably didn't appreciate.

"And this is Linda," Matt motioned to her. "Think you know her, right L?"

"I...it's nice to meet you, L...I..." Linda stuttered out.

The detective shook her hand.

"We have some things to go over now, so if you'll follow me," L motioned to the door, and Matt had to snap Linda out of her state of shock. Matt giggled the whole time.

"Alright, now, I have some of the information from the entire Kira case up until now," L handed out some paperwork to the two of them. "Understand that we'll have to possibly burn these papers as soon as this meeting is over,"

They both nodded. L took a seat on the couch, squatting down rather than sitting. "Now, I've called you here because by now, I'm willing to admit that I can't solve this investigation by myself. I knew that from the moment I took on the case, and I'm aware more than ever now,"

"But...you're the world's greatest detective, right? I mean...why is Kira so powerful?" Linda spoke up.

"Well, honestly, I'm not even sure just how that is, either," L replied, pouring himself a cup of tea. "I thought I'd be able to get a confession out of him at some point, but then...whatever he did, I can't even say. But he somehow managed to convince me for a time that he really was innocent," he started dropping one, then two, then a few sugar cubes into his tea. "It even seemed as if he was convinced that he wasn't Kira. Like he'd turned into a different person somehow,"

Linda thought to herself, _'Turned into a different person? How could he do that?_ But all Matt could think of was _Seriously? How many sugar cubes do you need, buddy?_

"And here's something else," L added, "As it turns out, Kira's method of killing involves writing the names of his victims in a mysterious notebook known as the 'Death Note.'"

"WHAT?"

"It was hard for me to believe myself," L said, taking a sip of his tea before adding in another sugar cube. "Actually, I'm still having a hard time believing it. But it would explain how Kira is able to kill victims without being present,"

"True," Matt said. "What's next? The Grim Reaper too?"

"Yes,"

"No really,"

"Yes, really,"

"This case just gets weirder and weirder," Matt facepalmed.

"Gods of death do in fact exist. I wondered about this for some time, and early on in the investigation, Kira left me a clue regarding them,"

He told them about the hidden message Kira had put into the various suicide notes of prisoners.

"_L do you know, gods of death love apples?_"

"Well...that's kind of random," commented Matt. Linda didn't know what to say. Was L joking about all this?

"As far as we know, it was merely Kira taunting me with a false clue,"

"Nah, I don't think," said Matt. "I mean really; killer notebooks and gods of death? I think that Kira was just giving out some random info...or, uh, I dunno. Anything's possible, right? Kira could have a band of Keebler elves to do his bidding for all we know,"

After the two Wammy recruits got over the initial shock of discovering that their killer used what some would describe as the unscientific, ahem, "M-word", the three got into discussing their course of action.

"So, this guy kills with just a name, face, a pen, and a handy-dandy notebook. Well that's reassuring!" Matt said exasperated. Linda squirmed in her seat.

"But the two of you are unknown to Kira, and he doesn't know your real names or faces," L pointed out. "So long as you don't give out that information, you're perfectly safe,"

That part was a bit of a relief to Linda. At least now she knew that Near and Mello were safe, at least for now. And besides, how was Kira going to figure out their real names anyway? "Um, L?"

"Just to be safe, I would like it if you call me Ryuzaki from now on,"

"Uh, Ryuzaki? I want to know, you met Kira in person, right? He may have had your face, but we don't even know your name..."

"Right, well; it turns out that another murderer came into the picture who has the ability to kill without needing a name, just a face," L said.

Linda's jaw dropped. "B-but...how?"

"They referred to their ability as the 'shinigami eyes,' which apparently allows anyone to see a person's real name, just with their face,"

Linda went back to worrying about the two of them.

"Wow, it keeps getting better..." Matt muttered. "So now what? Just seems pretty crazy at this point; how do we catch him if we apparently can't even go near this guy?"

"We won't be going near Kira just yet," L replied. "For now, we're only going to study his murder patterns and monitor his actions from a distance. We'll need to figure out how many notebooks there are and if Kira has anyone helping him with the murders,"

Matt said nothing, but groaned inside. He was hoping there'd be more action, not watching some guy get to do his thing for probably months...

"So now that we're clear on all this, I'd like the two of you to study the evidence collected up till now," L finally said.

Linda raised her hand sheepishly. "Um, Ryuzaki?"

"Yes Linda?"

"I...I know that we're putting our lives on the line, just like Mr. Wammy already told us, but I don't think I'm ready to see anyone die, really,"

"None of us are, Linda," L said. "I'd be surprised if you were,"

She nodded - at least she felt a little better now.

After everyone got up, Linda shuffled over to L and smiled up at him. "Ryuzaki?"

L looked over at her. She hugged him. "Thank you,"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the Shinigami Realm, Rem stared off into the distance, thinking about Misa. She wondered if L had really meant what he said, that he'd promise to ensure Misa's safety. Maybe he really meant what he'd said...<p>

But there was something else; she missed her only friend Gelus. He'd been a lonely, clumsy shinigami that no one else cared to talk to. Except Rem. Rem was about the only person who cared about Gelus, and his obsession with the human Misa Amane. He watched her every day, so fascinated with her. On the day she was to die, Rem had never seen him so sad.

"But she's so full of life," he'd said. When he saw the man come in front of her, blocking her path and holding out the knife, he panicked. He did what no shinigami should ever do - he killed the man to save her life.

She could only watch as he began to shrivel away into dust. He had no idea how he was dying, but Rem would never forget his final words to her.

"I...have no regrets,"

He wasn't sorry that he'd saved her life, even if it meant giving up his own. At least Rem could be secure in the fact that Gelus had died happy, without regrets.

But she was alone now, and didn't have anyone to talk to. At least now, Misa was safe. She would watch Misa from the Shinigami Realm now, wondering if she would be okay with Light Yagami. Rem could only hope...

Suddenly, she heard an all-too-familiar cackling coming from behind her. Rem didn't have to see who it was.

"Ryuk, what do you want?" she said.

The shinigami stared back with his semi-permanent grin. "Was about to ask you the same thing; I thought you wanted to be in the human world to watch that Amane girl,"

"I have my own reasons for coming here," she said, a little coldly.

"Well, you left your notebook in the human world when you took off; aren't you going to get it back?"

"Yes, I will," she hesitated though; she hadn't thought about the notebook before leaving.

"Alright then. Just thought I'd give you something before I take off," he handed her something; once she got a better look at it, she could see it was a small red notebook.

"Where did you get this?"

"Oh, I won it. Played a game with Guuku to get that thing. He's so bad even I beat him..."

Rem picked up the notebook. She recalled that some notebooks could be other colors besides black, though they all worked the same. Did Ryuk really get this for her? Was he doing it out of some ulterior motive? Maybe not...

"Thank you Ryuk,"

"Meh, just thought I'd do something nice for ya," he shrugged, then flew off.

Rem couldn't tell sometimes, whether Ryuk was really doing her a favor or playing a prank on her. She would obviously get her notebook back...why did he give her another one?

Still, maybe she was wrong about L...maybe she shouldn't have killed him...

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><p><strong>Hm, why the words 'maybe she shouldn't have killed him'? 'Tis a plot twist my friends, so stay tuned...<strong>


	11. Chapter 10: Allies

**Ugh, this chapter was so hard to get through. I even took out the previous version of this one and had to re-post! It's done now, so there! Massive plot-twist in the beginning, plus Near shows up. Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p>"Linda?" Matt walked into her room. He'd just woken up not too long ago - at almost noon, thanks to jetlag - and he wondered why he hadn't seen her. Maybe she was even more exhausted than he was.<p>

Matt tried to recall what had happened the previous night. Then it hit him - Linda never unpacked her things. 'I'll do it tomorrow,' she told him - it wasn't like her. Matt was usually the slacker out of the two.

"Lin. Come on, you up yet?" he found her room to be surprisingly empty. Not even her luggage was anywhere to be seen. This wasn't good.

The bed was made, nothing was under it, and he even checked the closet. No Linda.

"Lin. That's enough now. Quit messing with me," he said, but it wasn't like her to do that either.

Finally, he noticed a note laying on the night stand.

Meanwhile, L was sitting at his computer when his cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

It was Matt.

"So you're saying she's left? For Wammy's House?"

He bit his thumbnail, listening intently to what Matt had seen. Linda never told him she'd leave, and he'd just now found out about this.

"Alright then. You'll be working this investigation alone then, provided she isn't going to tell anyone,"

"It says in the note that she swore not to. We're even free to kill her if she does tell,"

"Alright," L nodded. "We'll handle this without her,"

* * *

><p>L had somewhat anticipated that his successors would end up not working together. Hope for the best, plan for the worst - could that statement ever have been more true! He hoped they'd come to some agreement, what with him not choosing an heir and all. He'd expected Mello to basically walk out on Near and take matters into his own hands.<p>

"So you want me to work as a go-between for the two of them?" Matt asked him.

"Exactly," L replied. "You're the only one who can talk to Mello -"

"Ryuzaki, convincing Mello to work with Near is...is like, trying to put out a bonfire by blowing on it," he smirked - yeah, pretty much. "I'm his friend, yeah. But that guy's hard to sway. He hates that kid,"

"I know," L sighed.

"But you said you wanted me specifically. Because I'm Mello's friend,"

"Yes," L nodded. "and Near, you said he'd be willing to work with you too. I chose you for that reason, along with the fact that you're third in line -"

" to succeed you," Matt finished. To him though, it barely mattered - unless of course Mello and Near both died somehow, along with L, he really never thought about his being the next L.

The fact that Matt hadn't taken his eyes off his Gameboy since they'd started the conversation was really getting on L's nerves. He'd pretty soon be taking the damn thing out of the boy's hands and tossing it out the window, if Matt didn't at least show that he remotely cared. L probably wouldn't have minded so much if it weren't for the noise coming from it...

"But I wasn't thinking you'd be bringing along Linda,"

Finally, Matt looked up. "Oh, her?" he shrugged. "She wanted to come along, so I let her. I didn't see what was wrong with it, she's a top student at Wammy's..."

"She's also currently back there, and with information that I'm still alive,"

Matt turned his Gameboy off - unknowingly saving its life - and sighed. "Well...if it's any help, Linda's really good at keeping secrets," _Yeah, I'm pretty sure you knew that was bull, L._

L pondered on this for a moment before saying "Fine then. She's still in this case, whether she likes it or not. At the very least, she can go over some of the information on the case from the sidelines...no, I'll think of something,"

Matt raised an eyebrow. _'Still in this case, whether she likes it or not'...knowing this guy, there's _way_ more to it than 'I'll think of something'. Who am I kidding, he's more than thought of everything!_

L broke his train of thought finally. "Well, I suppose it's fine for now, if what you say about her keeping secrets is true," And, unwrapping a candy cane he'd been holding and putting it in his mouth, L ended the discussion.

So now, Matt was going to play a kind of double-agent. He'd work for Near, and Mello, at the same time. Technically, the thought that doing this may result in his best friend hating him forever (or worse) should have had him on edge, worried about what might happen.

But he wasn't. He was just going to play it cool, see how things worked out...

...and try not to think about Mello.

* * *

><p>Near was working out his plans to catch Kira, demonstrating his tactics with Optimus Prime and Godzilla to the members of the SPK, when suddenly, he got a visitor. In stepped the all-too-familiar Matt, who'd been calling him up days before. Near looked unconcerned, but somewhat puzzled, at him.<p>

"Hello Matt,"

"Hello Near,"

Matt reached into his pocket for a cigarette, and was just about to light it when Halle Ridner tersely ordered him not to. He pouted, tossed the unlit cancer stick on the floor, and smooshed it in with his boot.

"So, you wanted to ask me something?" Near spoke up, not taking his eyes off his toys.

"Yes, actually," Matt nodded. "I would like to...well, I'd like to team up with you to solve the Kira case,"

Near's head shot up, quizzical expression on his face.

"What? We're allies, aren't we? At least, since Mello isn't willing to..."

_'Allies'_. Near pondered the word. He knew Matt, and he knew he was friends with Mello. Did he intend to use Near to gain some kind of edge over him? It didn't seem like Mello's style...right? No, not this early on. But _'allies'..._Matt hardly spoke five words to Near in his life! _'Allies'..._

"I...guess so," Near said slowly. _What is he getting at here?_

"Look, sorry it didn't work out with Mello...you know, that he didn't join you in catching Kira..."

"That's not your fault. And for that matter, it isn't even of concern,"

"Please," Matt walked up to him and crouched down in front of his toys. "I really want to catch Kira. I didn't drag my ass across the friggin' Atlantic Ocean for nothing," he chuckled. "Whaddaya say?"

Near looked up at Matt, thought about this, and twirled his hair around his finger. "Well...I don't see why not,"

Matt smirked. "Alright then. Let's catch Kira together,"

* * *

><p>The SPK members stared at the two boys from Wammy's House, as they discussed their plans on how they'd catch Kira while playing an insanely complicated game of chess, Monopoly, poker, checkers, and Connect Four...apparently all at once.<p>

"So if I go to the Task Force directly and offer to help Light Yagami, I'd gain direct info on his next move," Matt suggested, one hand laying down five cards while the other moved a pawn.

"Right, but keep in mind that's the same thing that got L killed," Near pointed out, rapidly shifting the yacht piece five squares forward before moving it directly onto the chess board.

"I know," Matt sighed, looking at the yacht. "Okay, what the hell is that thing doing there?"

"I lost it in jail. Now it's a pawn," Near answered.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Well, I know, but we'll come up with something...he can't just kill me off without facing a ton of suspicion. And besides, how's he supposed to even know my name?" He already knew the answer, but let Near say it for him.

"The shinigami eyes," he replied. "If they can see your face, they already know your real name,"

"Right," Matt nodded. He laid down a hand of cards, took three of them, dropped a chip into the yellow slot, and took out several of Nears checkers in one turn. Gevanni tilted his head sideways. "Okay then. Think if say, I use my goggles to conceal my eyes, it'll help?"

Near looked hard at the five games, then glanced up at him. "I dunno, it could. It's risky, I'm not sure it's a good idea to be that reckless,"

"I still say it's worth a shot. So long as they don't see my whole face...and again, how are they gonna explain my death not having anything to do with Kira?"

"And perhaps, he could figure some way around that," Near slid three chips in the Connect Four at once, passed go and collected five hundred dollars before taking out Matt's knight with his bishop. "You have to be three steps ahead of the enemy,"

Matt stared at the chess board, then glanced over at the cards in his left hand. Smacking them down, he said "Okay okay, true. You got me there, Near. But seriously, you got any better ideas? I mean, no one at the NPA is working..."

"How do you know Kira's working with the NPA?"

Matt just smiled. "You told me, didn't you?"

"I did?"

"Yeah, remember that e-mail you sent me?"

Near looked at him sideways. "I...never sent you an e-mail. You call on occasion,"

"Oh right. Okay so, you must've told me about that part over the phone,"

Near shrugged. "Alright,"

They continued on in their game, and about $600 of fake money (part of it used in the side-poker game) later, they'd already worked out several steps in how they'd get close to Kira. Now, the subject that was bugging at both of them...

"Um, Matt?" Near glanced up from the chessboard. "I uh...I've been thinking that since you've come here, you intend to do something besides just help me out, correct?"

Matt knew where he was going. "Yeah, and?"

"Well, I know you're good friends with Mello. So I've already guessed that you intend to get the two of us to work together,"

"I figured you would,"

"That, or you're acting as a mole for him to gain an edge over me. If you're attempting the latter, I can tell you that it isn't going to work, and it's stupid to even try it anyway," Near laid down a royal flush.

"Of course," Matt rolled his eyes. "Come on Near, I would never be so stupid to think that I could pull one over on you!"

Not quite seeing the sarcasm, Near replied "Well...it's somewhat unlikely, but that idea would be counterproductive to solving the investigation is what I meant,"

"Oh,"

"Still...having Mello working with us on this case would be ideal. We may even be able to surpass L,"

Matt flinched at that comment. "Right...but the thing is, he just doesn't like you," he captured Near's queen with the yacht piece.

Near stared at the piece for a moment, before saying, "Well...obviously, it's not like you can tell him right away that you're helping me. But if he found out that you joined the Task Force, he might at least wonder,"

"I'm just hung up telling him I'm with his arch enemy," Matt sighed. Near now had his king in check.

"But we're not enemies," Near said, somewhat depressed.

"Yeah, well if he's still caught up in trying to be better than you..."

"I wish he decided to help me on this case," Near admitted.

Matt looked at him sideways. Sure, everyone agreed that it was better if Mello helped but - he wanted Mello's help. Now he kind of felt bad for Near. "Yeah...I know. Uh..." Wait, was Near about to win the game?

"Checkmate," Near smiled, looking up from the chessboard.

Matt stared at it, slightly stunned at the fact that he'd just been pwned by a Monopoly piece. "Um...okay. How about this then; we basically put him in a position where he's got no choice but to work with you. Essentially, I'll have to be a total asshole and ruin his plans somehow without him realizing it, in a way that has him help you. Of course, I'll probably end up killed for this,"

"Think we can do that?"

"Maybe," Matt shrugged. "Let's hope it doesn't come with the whole 'I'll probably get killed' thing,"

"I thought you weren't worried about Kira,"

"I'm not. Near, when your best friend just took over the mafia, nothing scares you,"

* * *

><p><strong>This was so funny! Were you surprised that Linda up and left? <strong>

**Well, now you know why L needs Matt. And I threw in the chess/poker/Monopoly/checkers/ConnectFour game in to add some crazy; plus, I wanted to have Near playing a game, and get his genius but also his childish side too.**

**Hopefully, I can manage a better next chapter. I cringed after I looked over the last update...it happens sometimes. Great story, but then a sucky chapter. Oh well...**

**Please review!  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 11: Troll

**Well, I wasn't expecting things to take the turn that they did. I actually read over the story, and it turns out I made a HUGE FRICKIN' MISTAKE! Namely, for those of you who wonder how the hell everyone in Wammy's (especially Near) already know that Kira is Light Yagami, well, I have two answers: 1) I messed up, didn't read it through, and will fully admit to the fault. 2) A wizard did it. :P**

**'Kayz, so now ya know. Well, now Matt's working for L, Linda's out of the case, and so...we prepare...for...the Time Skip!**

* * *

><p>Light was in a daze, a kind of hazy half-awake, half-asleep fog of sorts, partway still in that dream...<p>

"Ryuzaki?"

He could see L there. The dreams were coming back now, on and off for the past five years. Dreams about L.

"L? L is that you?"

L was supposed to be dead, right? He was just standing there, not noticing that Light was calling him. But...why was he still here? It happened five years ago...but there he was, just like the way he stood alone in the rain.

"Hey...I hear it! I think I hear the bell too..."

Finally, he turned to face Light. He stared back at him with his big, dark-ringed eyes. He almost looked like he would smile...

"LIGHT!"

"I'M NOT KIRA!" Light shouted as he shot upright in bed. It was just Misa. She looked at him, confused and concerned.

"Light honey, are you alright?" she asked.

"Y-yeah...it's nothing. Just a bad dream I guess," Light said. Just then, he felt Misa wrapping her arms around him. He only tolerated this, but she didn't seem to notice.

_No, that was just a dream. L is dead. L has been dead for the past five years now..._

_...so I have no reason to worry..._

But then, why did he worry so much? Only when he had those weird dreams about L...

* * *

><p>It was 1:04 in the morning as L blinked in front of his computer screen with a bowl of ice cream. Today, Matt's flight would arrive in Japan within an hour or so, and he'd be staying at the same hotel L had built for Light and Misa while tracking down the third Kira...<p>

Despite not much having changed in five years, L had been fairly busy. Pinning down the locations of the notebooks, determining the current Kira, and researching the work of several European artists. By now, he'd figured out that there were two notebooks, one being with Kira, the other with the Task Force. He'd also worked out that Misa was posing as Kira, with Light covering for her to make the killings look more sporadic.

"Matt, you remembered the directions I gave you, right?" he asked over the voice connection.

"Yes Ryuzaki, I've read over several times the instructions you gave me. I'm pulling in now,"

"You're at a stop light,"

Matt paused. "Wait...you can see that? How do you know?"

"I have a surveillance camera installed in that car," L replied, taking up a spoonful of ice cream.

"O...kay...well, no, that isn't creepy at all," Matt rolled his eyes. "For the record Ryuzaki, I'm not Kira,"

"I know that," L said, tipping a spoon full of chocolate and letting it fall on his tongue. "I still need to keep tabs on the case, since I can't be in Japan myself,"

"Isn't that why I'm here?"

"That's part of it," L licked the spoon. "Oh yeah, and the light's green now,"

Matt pouted. He liked L for the most part, but the two of them generally had a way of occasionally pissing each other off. Like right now...

"Alright, I'm on the next turn, apparently you can see that, I already know the directions..."

"Oh, you've had your blinker on for the past two blocks,"

"That's just my car flipping your camera the bird," Matt replied flatly.

Once he'd finally gotten into the hotel, the full impact of "L built an entire hotel for two people" started to hit him. The hotel was five-star by itself, but for anyone who'd been staying at a Motel 6 for several years...

"Oh one more thing Matt," L added over the phone. "You're not aloud to smoke inside the hotel rooms, do you understand? Either go outside, or use the balcony,"

"Fine," he sighed. _Yeah, like you're really gonna know about it,_ Matt thought. _Unless..._

"Ryuzaki? Do you have cameras installed in this hotel room?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh nothing. I just find it so reassuring how much you care about my safety,"

Matt scanned the living room. The first thing he noticed was the enormous 50'' flat screen, and all his gaming supplies from Wammy's House. "L...uh, Ryuzaki?"

"Yes Matt?"

"Did...did you actually take my stuff from Wammy's? And bring it here?"

"Not exactly. I did manage to get a former resident of Wammy's House to collect some of your games, along with a few that you apparently wanted. I figured you might want them so I brought them,"

"W-wow...uh, yeah, thanks," Matt looked at it all - it was actually more than what he'd had at Wammy's House, with just about all the gaming equipment you can imagine - and decided maybe, the surveillance cameras weren't that bad.

"Yes, well, thank you for that, Ryuzaki," Matt said, before putting L on hold temporarily and shouting on the top of his lungs "OH MY GOD! WHOOOO!" and finally resuming the phone conversation.

"Now keep in mind, at some point you'll be working alongside Kira,"

"I know,"

"Just be sure to not act too suspicious,"

"Well, Near and I have already decided that my being part of the NPA in itself is pretty overtly suspicious,"

"True,"

"Are you sure you don't want me to tell the others you're alive?"

"No, not yet. I can't have Near and Mello know it, at least not for now. I'd rather them act on their own,"

Matt wasn't sure what he meant by that. "Whatever. 'Kay then, guess I'll just do what you tell me and be all buddy-buddy with Kira, right?" he plopped down on the couch.

"One more thing Matt; something you might find interesting," L added before Matt hung up. "There seems to be some news in Europe of an outspoken anti-Kira activist. Her name is Tilia O'Connor, and she's been gaining popularity as a painter,"

"I'm guessing she'll die pretty soon,"

"Not necessarily. That's why I want you to look her up,"

"I thought I'd be done with projects like this when I left Wammy's,"

"Well Matt, you aren't,"

"Fine then...hold on," Matt noticed something in the corner of the ceiling. "Is that another surveillance camera?"

"I never got the chance to remove them,"

"You won't be watching me on a daily basis, will you?"

"Not exactly. Although I could check them at any time if I wanted to,"

Matt glanced from the camera to his phone, and then shrugged. "Fine,"

After hanging up, Matt figured that looking up Tillie whoever-the-hell-she-was could wait. Right now, it was time to troll Kira.

* * *

><p>Back at the NPA, the current L received another anonymous message telling him that he would soon meet his end.<p>

"Seriously L, I think they really pay you too much," the distorted voice taunted. "It's been five years now and you still have no lead on Kira? Looks like my tax dollars are going down the toilet right there..."

"This guy again," Light muttered. He turned to face the rest of the Task Force. "We've been getting harassing messages like this on and off for the past five years now. It seems like they're just trying to start trouble but, why would they go through all the work of getting through the firewall?"

"You know, I guess it's not so bad that you suck at your job; the crime rate is lower than ever thanks to your utter incompetence,"

Light smirked. If this guy - who was obviously a troll - was trying to piss him off, he was failing miserably. This was really just stroking his ego, if anything.

"But let's be honest here; it's not that Kira is infinitely more intelligent than you that accounts for your pathetic failure in finding him. You're just afraid he'll kill you too, right?"

Yup, this guy was a retard.

"Well, if you ever do find Kira, just tell him he can take his stupid notebook and shove it up his -"

"Hold on a second! How does he know about the notebook!" Light shot up in his seat. Everyone snapped their heads to the computer screen, gawking at what had just been said. Now no one knew what to think; was this person just a troll? But why would they hack into the computer to send a message? And how could they know about the notebook?

"Hey L, you still got that notebook, right? There's one with you, I think..."

"I say we find out who this guy is," said Aisawa.

"Yeah, seriously. If he knows this much...I mean, he could've been going through our files or something, right?" Matsuda added.

Light was surprised to find that for once, Matsuda said something profoundly right. "True, it's possible he's been looking into our files. I mean, if he can get past the computer's security software so easily..." but Light didn't think he was doing that. He just had the sneaking suspicion...

"There's no escaping me L! I'm on your Internet, trollin' your Kiras..."

So now that he knows about the notebook...

"One more thing L; please enjoy this Rickroll courtesy of your worst nightmare," Immediately, a YouTube video of Rick Astley popped up on the screen.

"Aw damn! We've been Rickrolled!" groaned Matsuda.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, sorry this chapter's kind of short, but I could only get so much in here. Translation: Lazy author is lazy.<strong>

**Matt is now a troll. I seriously needed an excuse for him to say 'Im on ur internet, trollin ur Kiraz,' it just sounded awesome! I swear he's taking lessons from Trollzaya...(something something stomping on girl's cell phones)**

**Please people...REVIEW! Or feel the wrath of the Kira-troll!**


	13. Chapter 12: Sayu

**This one was supposed to be filler-ish...but things didn't work out that way. The bad news is, we have another OC in this chapter. The good news...well, you'll find out.**

**Okay then, so this chapter is focusing on Sayu. I figured that since she's Light's little sister, she should've gotten more focus in the story. By "focus" I mean the part where she's kidnapped too - that would've made for a really dramatic plot point, where Sayu's POV while she's kidnapped (since we all know how Death Note gets with dramatic stuff)...anyway, enjoy.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Sayu's friend ran up to meet her. "Hey Sayu, how've you been?"<p>

"I've been great. How are things with you, Tsuki?"

The two of them stopped at the bus station and chatted about their day. Sayu kept in mind that she was to make no mention of Light's work with L, that he was working alongside the world's greatest detective...

It was funny, how he, after insisting that she stop asking, finally broke down and told her about what he was really doing all this time.

"Okay, fine," he sighed. "I'll tell you. But you can't tell anyone else, got it?"

"Alright,"

"And you can't let mom and dad know that you know about it,"

"Okay, just tell me," Sayu said.

And he did. He admitted that all that time, he'd really been helping L with the Kira case. He left out the part about his being the prime suspect, about the two of them being chained together (of course), or that the real L had died and Light was now acting in his place, but other than that, he'd told her everything.

"Wow. So you've been helping L this whole time?"

"Yeah," Light shrugged. "I mean, granted, we have yet to actually find Kira, and L's really the one doing most of the work, but I help out where I can,"

"Oh, that's so cool, Light!"

It was too bad she couldn't brag to her friends at school, which she so badly wanted to do. After all, who else could say they had a brother working with the world's best detective? She just told them that he was helping his father with investigational work, which was true, technically, but vague enough to not reveal much.

"So what did you say your brother Light was doing again?" asked Tsuki.

"Oh he's working with my dad; you know, helping out with some criminal work. He wants to be a detective, you know,"

"That's cool," she nodded. "So, you got any plans for the weekend?"

"Kind of,"

"Let me guess; you've got plans with Misa Amane. Lucky,"

"Heh, yeah,"

"I am so jealous! Your brother's so awesome, he's gonna be a detective _and_ he's going out with a pop star! Why can't I be you?"

Sayu chuckled. The two of them walked home together, going on about nothing in particular. She let Tsuki do most of the talking - her friend could come up with some crazy topics, but always made it engaging - until they were at a crosswalk. Tsuki had just been discussing something pertaining to kiwis when they both noticed a boy, about in his late teens; he clearly wasn't a local here.

"Hey!" Tsuki waved at him. He looked up from his Gameboy and waved back shyly.

"What? You know this guy?" Sayu asked her.

"Nah, but he's kinda cute,"

She looked at him - brown hair, tinted goggles, striped shirt - and then back at Tsuki. Shrugging, she said, "Kinda dorky-looking if you ask me,"

Just then, the boy looked over and raised an eyebrow. He muttered something in English.

The two girls started cracking up.

"Such a great country this is, the people are so polite," he remarked, rolling his eyes.

"I take it you're new here?" asked Sayu.

"Yeah," he nodded. He sorted out the words he would say, translating in his head before going on. "I...recently moved out here from the United States,"

"From America? Really?" Tsuki piped up. "Oh, nice. What's it like there?"

"Well for one thing, many of us are dorky-looking," he glanced over at Sayu. "Apparently,"

The two started laughing again.

"Yeah, I'm originally from England though...where we are all fairly dorky-looking,"

The girls laughed again, this time harder.

"So what brings you here? I mean, yeah..." asked Tsuki.

"Well..." the boy trailed off. "...let's just say I'm here...on assignment. Is all I can say,"

"Ah I see," retorted Sayu's friend. "Are you some sort of spy? Does it have something to do with a certain K-I-R-"

"Tsuki, don't be ridiculous," Sayu nudged her lightly in the shoulder. She looked over at him with a shrug. "Yeah, my friend here is kind of different,"

"It's fine," he smiled. "I've got friends who make you look normal,"

Another round of laughter.

Finally, Sayu said, "Well, I hope you like it here. I've gotta go,"

"Bye,"

"Bye," the two girls said.

After her friend walked over to her house - just three houses down from where Sayu lived - Sayu Yagami strolled up to the front door and came inside.

"Hey guys,"

"Sayu!" Misa jumped out of her seat and ran over to hug her. "Aw, I missed you sweetie! How was your day?"

"It was great," she smiled - ever since Light had introduced Sayu to his girlfriend Misa, she'd been utterly thrilled. The two of them became close friends, and in a way, Misa was like a sister to Sayu.

All this ran through Sayu's mind the night she was kidnapped. Weird, how yesterday things were going so well, now she was in the back of someone's van...

She wasn't even struggling. No, all she was doing right now was thinking about yesterday. Maybe this is what fear did...she was too scared to scream. No, she just thought of that day, it seemed so distant now...

_"I've got friends who make you look normal,"_

The words came back to her. Funny what kind of things go through your head when the worst possible things happened. Or maybe Sayu was kind of weird...maybe...

It was one final speed bump that jolted Sayu back to her senses. Now she knew where she was. She was in somoeone's trunk. She had been kidnapped. Her mouth was tied over with a gag, her hands bound behind her back. They had come up from behind, and she remembered; Tsuki tried to fight them, didn't she? What happened to her? There was screaming, something like a blunt impact, and then...silence. So did they kill her?

The girl squirmed around in pitch black, trying to make sense of everything. Okay, so after they hit Tsuki...she shuddered at the thought that her friend had probably died...they shoved a cloth in her face. Chloroform. How else did it knock her out so fast? After that, nothing. So that's when it came to her; she'd been knocked out, her friend either dead or seriously injured, and now they were taking her...somewhere. She heard of what kinds of things they did to girls like her. No, she thought, nobody dared do something like that with Kira to face. Kira would kill these people before they could do anything, right? So she didn't have to worry, right?

Wait...her cell phone! She had it with her, right? Her hands instinctively writhed in the clip-tie to reach into her back pocket. There was no breaking these things - except with a knife. Which she didn't have. Still, if she could get to her pocket...

Nope, not the left. She tried her right. The whole thing was insanely troublesome, just getting to her phone...which wasn't in the right pocket either. That's when she realized where it was - on the ground, still on, and somewhere miles away.

Now she knew she was lost. Done. There was no getting out of it. No cell phone, no defense, nothing. So that's when Sayu was hit with the reality of it, like a ton of bricks. She let out a whimper, then a moan. Then, she started kicking and screaming. She blurted out every obscenity she could think of - she hated the assholes who took her, hated Tsuki for making a fuss, her brother - Ugh! Light! - for letting out his work with L. That was probably why she was even here in the first place...she knew too much...

And most of all, she hated every bump in the road making her head bang against the floor - or ceiling, whatever - every time! And the gag, the stupid clip-tie binds...and why was it so goddamned hot?

About an hour and a half of this, she finally wore out. It wouldn't be too bad, maybe? Maybe if she told them her brother was working with the police, her father was Deputy Director of the N.P.A., maybe they'd let her go. They wouldn't hold her hostage if there was so much she could back against them, right? Or it could be a misunderstanding. Maybe she was taken by mistake.

What mistake?

She scoffed at her own thoughts - how insane was that? Her kidnapping was no accident, that was for sure.

At last, the trunk opened, and she squinted back in the blinding light. Wherever she was, it was likely some kind of desert climate. How else to explain all this heat in January?

Suddenly, a hand covered half her face, she passed out again.

Finally, Sayu came to. She was sweating, dizzy, and exhausted from the long struggle in the back of the van. Okay, she was indoors; in some kind of building, cooler than the van had been, luckily. She was still bound up, but she could faintly make out a conversation between two people...

"...and you killed a girl? You idiot! You were supposed to kidnap Sayu Yagami, that's it!"

Sayu's head shot up at the sound of her own name.

"...other girl was fighting back. She might've had the eyes, that's why I hit her,"

"If you had covered your face like I ordered you to, that wouldn't have run into that problem!"

Eyes? What about Tsuki's eyes?

Suddenly, there was a gunshot. Silence. Sayu's heart skipped a beat.

Whoever that man was, he was dead.

Would she be next?

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is. It was kind of short, but I tried to put in the "Five Stages of Grief" for Sayu - right now, she's probably going into Despair mode.<br>**

**I needed another OC so Sayu could have someone to talk to...come to think of it, that's pretty much the same reason Matt was created. And he made a cameo in here!**

**Well, hope you enjoyed the suspense. I've gotta get Mello in the next chapter...**

**Till then, REVIEW!**


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